When I was a child, I couldn't wait to grow up and be an adult. Adults didn't have an early bedtime. They could eat whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Apparently, adults prepare snacks and eat them after the children are in bed; cool stuff like popcorn and sauerkraut and dumplings (you have to know our family - getting sauerkraut and dumplings was like a Right of Passage). Nobody to tell you what to do. Boy, that would be the life. I couldn't wait!
Well, now I'm all grown up (well, mostly) and I have found out quickly that being a grown up is not all it's cracked up to be. You have quite a bit of freedom, but you also have quite a bit of responsibility.
Now I can go to bed anytime I want, which is usually early than I actually get to bed. I babysit my nephews from time to time and when their bedtime comes, they begin the negotiation and stalling part of their day. The boys never want to go to bed. Now, auntie, on the other hand, wishes someone would tuck her in to bed about 8:30 p.m. Being an adult teaches you that you can go to be at any time you want, but the alarm still goes off at 6:30 a.m. You can either be well rested or sleep deprivated. That's your choice as a grown up.
I am the first to admit that some of my meals are not as nutritionally balanced as they should be. I have had popcorn for supper, eaten dessert first and cooked menus made up entirely of starches and carbs. I also know that I am solely responsible for my health, so I buy carrots, yogurt and other vegetables that I refused to eat as a child.
As an adult, you have to call and make appointments to get your own booster shots even when you don't want to. You go to the dentist because you know you have to. You willingly schedule root canals, colonoscopies and surgical procedures even when you don't want to have any of these procedures done! Time and gravity catch up to all of us eventually and you want to keep your body upright as long as possible.
Instead of spending my entire paycheck on candy, clothes and toys, which still sounds pretty fun, you pay bills, buy groceries, fill your car with gas and put whatever money may remain in your savings account for a rainy day.
As an adult, children believe you to be responsible, caring and unafraid of the dark. Two out of three ain't bad! I'm still afraid of the dark, especially after a scary movie.
Sometimes it amazes me that I'm in my thirties. I don't feel older. Sometimes I don't act older. Time sure flies.
