Grown Ups

Most of the time, grown ups get a bad wrap. Let's be honest, there are a lot of responsibilities we have to face when we get to that life stage. There is the housing situation. Whether you are paying rent or your mortgage, you are still depleting your checking account. You realize that dinner didn't just magically appear on the table like it did when you were living with mom and dad. Now you find out you have to buy the food AND prepare it. This takes time and money. Clean laundry doesn't make its way back in your closets and dresser drawers. And, you have to pay taxes. You can see now why Peter Pan was such a big hit.

However, I have to say I think being a grown up is awesome. This probably stems from the fact that I have been a grown up since I was nine. As a kid I was serious and responsible. My room was always clean and organized and I was always concerned about my "future." Of course then the goal of the "future" was getting through the fourth grade. One time a neighbor came to the door and asked if I could play. I told her no because I had to work on my spelling words. She asked why I didn't just do them after dinner and I told her that if I wait that long, my heart starts to feel weird. True story. This is how a child tries to describe her anxiousness to another child. Another time, I was up late studying. My dad saw my light on and was annoyed at me for putting off my studies until the night before the test. He came in my room and told me that I was just going to have to face the music because it was time for bed. "Next time don't wait for the night before to study for your test." I gave him a quizzical look and told him I was studying for a test that wasn't until next week. When I was older he told he that had I baffled him because he was a fly-by-the-seat kind of student and couldn't figure out why you would "cram" for a test that was a week away. Like I said, I took myself seriously. I was a grown up long before the state recognized me as such.

That being said, I like being an adult because I feel more comfortable in my skin. This is probably true for a lot of people since growing up by definition is awkward, but there are still lots of great reasons why being a grown up is so awesome. Here are a few:

1. Bed Times. I can stay up as late as I want, even on a school night!! (Gasp!!) I don't have anyone telling me that it is 8:30 and I have to go put my jammies on and go to bed. It was especially aweful in the summer when it was still light out and you could hear the neighbors riding their bikes and loving life. "But Mom, Dave and Jessica are out playing still, why can't we?" Same response every time: "I'm not Dave and Jessica's mom." But now that I'm a grown up . . . I'll stay up as late as I want!!! Boo-yah.

2. Meals. I love to cook, which is handy because I also love to eat. The best part is I can make all the meals I like and leave out all the icky stuff I don't. Like creamed corn. I hate that stuff. Sometimes my mom made it and it looked like heated up puke in her Calphalon sauce pan. Or . . . (gulp) . . . kitchen kiev. Yuck. To Troy's great dismay, I can't eat that stuff. He loves it, and for his sake, I thought about making it from scratch because I really can't stand the packaged stuff. The problem is that I hate the packaged stuff so much, I can't bring myself to make it home-made. Catch 22. Finally, there were the fish sticks. Blech. My dad worked a lot of late nights so this became a staple protein for our dinners sans dad. I will never buy fish sticks, and you know what? I have that right. Why? Because I am a grown up. Boo-yah.

3. Decor. Growing up, Laura and I were drug to a lot of stores for the purchases that my parents needed to make. Sometimes it was super frustrating for us because they never wanted to take our suggestions and Laura and I felt like we were part of the family, living in the same house so we should get a say in things like furniture. Our selections were always veto-ed. The conversations would go something like this:

Kids: Mom! Dad! Look at this awesome couch that is shaped like an octogan with fuzzy cheetah print!! This would look awesome in the family room!! We could lounge around on it while we watch movies! I bet it would be good for parties and stuff!! Can we get this one?

Parents: No. We don't like that.

Kids: What?! Don't like it? But it's awesome! None of our friends have a couch like this!

Parents: When you pay for the furniture, you can get whatever you want.

Well . . . since I am a grown up, I will do just that. Boo-yah.

4. Rules. I am pretty sure that every kid has hear his/her parent say, "When you live under my roof, you will obey my rules!" The problem is that sometimes those rules were lame. Now, I make my own rules. I can spoil my dinner with ice cream, I don't have to do my cleaning on Saturdays, and my curfew is whenever I feel like coming home. And this is all because . . . . I am a grown up. Boo-yah.

5. Marriage. Sometimes Laura and I would play the scenario where our Barbie would marry the Ken dolls. **Side Note: We never used the names 'Barbie' and 'Ken' for our dolls. That was lame. My girl's name usually changed a lot, but Laura's was consistently Elizabeth. ** The wedding was always as awesome as an eight-year-old can imagine, but after the wedding, Ken, or Mike, Chris, etc, would be plopped on our plastic, pink Barbie couch to watch TV for the remainder of our playing time. Real life marriage is way more fun. I mean, Real Life Ken does watch a lot of TV, but at least his arms aren't at a permanent right angle. And, my wedding was way better than our Barbie scenario. Now, Troy and I get to do all the fun things I mentioned above because we are married adults . . . and we can. Boo-yah.

Those are just a few reasons why being an adult is so awesome. Although, sometimes I look at my students and think, you are so lucky. You're seven. You don't have bills, you don't have a job and your biggest concern is whether you will get the latest Hannah Montana t-shirt. I reflect on if I were given the chance, would I trade places with them. The answer: no way, josé!! Because those kids still have to face things that I would never want to repeat. Things like junior high school and puberty. I already dominated those challenges!! I guess that would be another reason that being a grown up is awesome.

Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of 'Yo mamma' jokes, and bodily functions will always be funny to me. I still like to play dress up except now the high heels fit me and I am not dragging my grandma's around the house like flip flops. I like to act silly around Troy and sometimes I am still just a 12-year old. But I can be. Because I am a grown up.

A big, fat boo-yah to that.