Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Doesn't turning 40 involve being "grown-up"?

It's true. I'm 40. Well, at this point, I will be tomorrow. But I'm sure the earth has wobbled enough in my lifetime to make the distinction somewhat moot.

How did this happen? I'm not particularly dismayed about the event, but it just doesn't seem real. In school, 40 is inconceivable. Hell, 40 is how old your TEACHERS are, and getting that old just isn't on the to-do list. I don't remember there being much of a conceptual difference between 40 and 60.

Honestly? Those born during my second semester of college? Apparently it's legal for them to consume alcoholic beverages. In the United States. Nope, not making that up.

And of course, there are those I went to school with who now have grandchildren. And I'm still sitting here trying to have CHILDREN? Mother Nature is having a rollicking laugh over that absurdity.

I admit that I started feeling a LITTLE grown up when we bought our house. That seems to have faded. Perhaps it’s just that being $400,000 in debt is even harder to grasp than being 40? I don't seem to be any more "responsible" than I was before we bought it. Of course nothing has gone PROFOUNDLY wrong with the house yet, so perhaps it's just a matter of time?

So am I just perpetually immature? What does grown up feel like? Does ANYONE I know have any experience with it???

3 comments:

Kathryn said...

"To be mature means to face, and not evade, every fresh crisis that comes."
Fritz Kunkel

You seem to be doing quite well on this front. I think you need to reevaluate what you believe "mature" to be.

Philip H. said...

hell no it better not - I'll be there in May . . .

Anonymous said...

I said this same thing to my OBGYN, expecting her to go into bedside manner mode and reassure me. Instead she said: "And it only gets worse!"

My favorite part so far is pizza face. I didn't even have pimples this bad in my teenage years. It's utterly revolting and I have never used so much concealer in my life. I am even contemplating getting foundation, which I have never, ever worn.

Fucking sucks.