spydermonkey
our families are all we know of "normalcy" as we grow up, no matter how "normal" or dysfunctional they actually are. it's as we grow and start figuring out the world for ourselves and making our own decisions and finding meaning that we see how that affected us and have to make changes or stay the same in how we look at our parents and ourselves.

For me this was a big problem, all I knew was the goldfish bowl of my family & their 'normalcy' A silent, cold, controlling & critical dynamic, a life lived treading on egg shells.

It wasn't till I was a teen and had dinner at a friend's house that I realized how different my family was. Her house was a warm place, lots of banter, joking and conversation everyone seemed to like each other and enjoy the company. Wow what was that all about! All new to me. Was this normal?
I was very nervous, I didn't know how to 'be'. I think they thought I was odd.