Thursday · May 04 2006
I had a long and stressful day of work yesterday. I didn't sleep particularly well last night. In between, I sat out on our upstairs deck and unwound on the first night that felt like early summer. The Cubs lost again on the radio. Ambulance sirens blared towards St. Francis Hospital. And it never got dark enough to hide the clouds heading out over the lake.
Is it funny to think of yourself as an adult? This post made me think of the pleasures of owning a home and that lead me to having a family, which is in my mind the ultimate sign of adulthood. Especially in the US, what does that mean? Adulthood is something you're never supposed to fully embrace. But there are pleasures that only the responsibilities of adulthood can bring.
Random musings, sorry.
"Adulthood is something you're never supposed to fully embrace."
I'm not sure what to make of that. I suppose it depends on how you use words like "old", "mature", and "adult." I don't embrace getting old, because it requires progressively more work to have energy, stay up late, and all the rest of the great parts of being young. But I'm satisfied with being an adult and enjoying days watching my son grow.
Here's the thing about getting old - it happens whether you want it to or not. And I sort of find it sad when I see a person who is forty to fifty years old living the lifestyle of a twenty year old. However, it is even more sad when that person is married, has kids, etc. and is desperate to hang onto youth (not in the "grup" sense, I'm thinking more mid-life crisis). But, this is only my point of view. These people probably look at me and say, "Ugh, thank God I'm not her!" And I think it is really normal to feel a sense of conflict over this issue.