Sunday, October 11, 2009

One More Step Toward Adulthood

I have taken many steps on the path to adulthood:

- I make myself eat veggies even when I don't WANT to

- I've learned how to tolerate and even like coffee (although not without tons of milk and sugar)

- I've walked in the ceremony for my law school graduation

- I worry about things like health insurance and what to cook for dinner

- I've gained some (although limited) experience with foreign concepts like: "tax deductible," "downpayment," and "toilet bowl brushes"

- The appropriate response upon hearing a friend or relative is pregnant is more often "congrats" than "oh sh*t!"

- I watch my husband pay my car insurance- I was going to tell you all that I pay my car insurance but that would totally be a lie.

BUT BY FAR, today's experience has made me feel the most grown up out of any other adult step I have taken. Today, for the first time in my life, I paid a babysitter. Think about that for a moment...For a good decade and a half of my life I have BEEN the babysitter. Now here I am, interviewing awkward teens thinking "how are YOU good enough for MY baby?"

Rather than spending late nights waiting for some other children's parent to come home with a big fat check for me, I'm the one dolling out the big bucks (dang, childcare is expensive). Seriously people- how did this happen? I'm too young to be the "parent!" Where did my childhood go?! Then, after I PAID the babysitter, I *gasp* DROVE the babysitter home. The first time I actually said the phrase, "I have to drive the babysitter home" I almost choked on my own breath.

I used to think parents were crazy when they would be out on a rare date and keep calling home to check in on their kids. I used to wonder if parents really meant "help yourself to anything in the fridge" when they said it. I used to wonder why they would often come home later than they told me they would come home. And now I totally understand it all.

But you know what? I kind of miss being the babysitter.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

yeah, you're old.

there are other indicators of inching towards adulthood:

you're honestly tempted to say "when i was your age" to some spoiled kid.

staying up late doesn't appeal as much anymore.

you have friends who are already unhappily married.

you plan medical expenses into your budget.

you promise to do something that you don't particularly like to do to make a friend/romatic partner happy.

you have phases of your life that aren't even part of your consciousness anymore.

etc.

AMB said...

So what is the answer to the "help yourself to anything in the fridge" comment??

CP said...

ha ha, the answer is: "help yourself to the day old spagetti but leave my precious diet dr pepper alone!"

ha ha, jk. I oddly found myself truly meaning it!