Congratulations on this.
I was at a forced hand, career crossroads several years ago, when my husband was transferred to another state. Ultimately, we decided that our household would be best serviced long term, with my being at home full time. It put us in a different mindset to simplify, prepare for husband's retirement from his 1st career, and ended up being a great decision for us when I was later diagnosed with a chronic condition that we did not know about when we transferred!
Anyhow, the last year before our transfer, we got a little creative. Husband was overseas, I had personal issues with our oldest child. I did work primarily from home (scaled back role) but also felt that I needed that in office time. So, I went in one of the days per week, just for a few hours. It gave me some stability (in my mind) to see my colleagues, to touch base, check through files. Would that be something that may service you better, where you're still feeling in the fold with the office?
Another alternative: Does your employer have a reciprocal business that is closer to your home, that you could work out of? This could be a sister company, affiliated office, or even someone that you all do reciprocal business with (think like in the real estate industry, we work with lenders, title, attorneys, etc.). Perhaps, your employer would be able to talk with someone on that end regarding your having a 'desk' and fax/phone access? Maybe you'd have a desk fee involved to compensate that office. However, it is a possibility that I've seen work in my prior industry, so I wanted to mention!
Yes. I do think it's normal. Particularly, if you had been career motivated and feel that the position is a step backwards. However, if the work is gratifying, I think that coupled with the pros of not having that commute will win you over.
When my husband and I decided for me to be a homemaker, I left behind a career of over 10 years. My next move was to become a manager for a new office. Because of his transfer, I lost all of my networking contacts, that promotion, well.. and my current job. However, we approached it as a much needed change in our lives. It's opened the doors for our plans to be FI, which I believe would never have been on our radar to achieve, had we not been resilient through the changes that we were dealt.
Good luck!