In Between

I'm 27.

And I've just realized (again) that this means I'm an adult.

Yes, yes, I have an apartment, and I bought myself a new car four years ago, but it's only been in the past two weeks that I've realized that, as an adult, I have some say in the way things go in my life.

On the lighter side, that means that I can choose to go get a coffee with WG after my photography class has spent an hour and a half freezing outside taking action pictures of soccer players and police cadets. Correction, I can choose to go to Starbucks and get a warm beverage instead of going back into the classroom.

On the deeper side, I can stand up for my rights at work. I can admit that my health is more important than someone needing to hire an extra help worker to cover my shift. I am adult enough to work hard on not letting the guilt get to me when a supervisor asks if I can reschedule the appointment. I am adult enough to stand up and say that out of the four appointment times offered, this was the least intrusive on the schedule.

And, on the "Hey, I know I look young..." side, I can request more opportunities to be the lead worker. I may look young, but I've got more seniority than several of my co-workers, and that seems to get pushed aside.

I'm also adult enough to examine my own behavior and realize that there are some days when I am incapable of acting any older than the age of twelve. Sometimes, when I really need a nap, I'm five, and I do require someone, often WG, to tell me to go sleep, or I'll continue to be a kindergartener.

I'm still on the cusp in between adulthood and adolescence, viewing more and more from the adult perspective, these days. Happily, my newly discovered adulthood allows me to make more proactive choices and to pay attention to how I behave and to think about how others might interpret my behavior.

This growing up thing is hard. Maybe I should go take a nap...