I'm fairly certain it has nothing to do with smoking and voting becoming legally available upon turning 18, or when you turn 21 and can legally drink. Simultaneously drinking and voting is probably not a good combination but that's an entirely different subject. I'm talking about our ability to take the high road and suppress the childish instincts we all have. That's not to say we can't have fun but being child-like and child-ish are two very different things. I borrowed from a few sources for portions of this entry but I think they fit nicely.
I've been bumping into the notion of "adulthood" a lot recently -- usually when castigating myself for (what I consider to be) my own puerile or juvenile reactions to life. But what does it mean to be an adult? Obviously, I am referring to emotional, intellectual, and moral adulthood, and not physical (a lot of adults are not "adult.") For the record, I am reasonably good at restraining my juvenile emotions -- but I wish that I didn't feel them.
I'm not entirely certain how I'm going to proceed here but in the last several weeks I've observed an obscene amount of childish behavior from those who would probably profess to being "adults". While I'd like to pinpoint certain events I fear this would only cause me to come off as overly caustic. Besides, several of my encounters were with strangers and they wouldn't know me if they saw me again. The point is I want to give each of us pause before childishly reacting to something. I realize this is made exponentially more difficult when a fellow conversee throws a tantrum but keep it in mind for the next time it comes up.
In a three-year old's eyes, here are some things I noticed in varying degrees that were common:
If you misunderstand me it is always your fault.
Fair means that everyone gets the same no matter what they do, and it is even fairer when I get more for doing less.
To play nice means doing everything my way (conflict or problems are all your fault).
If I don’t get what I want and now, my world will end.
It is always my job to tell everyone when anyone does something wrong.
Something is worth the effort until it is effort, and then I just give up.
The list that follows is "grown-up stuff", it may sound trivial, but whatever.
Grownups have:
umbrellas.
a nice tote/briefcase.
a basic tool kit.
scotch tape and a stapler.
the ability to change a tire.
a tire gauge and jumper cables in the trunk.
decent pens.
something to write on.
a calendar.
the ability to read a map and take a train/bus to wherever they are going.
the ability to articulate their thoughts to someone else without getting visibly upset.
all their tax/real estate/insurance papers together and safe.
at least one pair of shoes that cost over $50.
the ability to dress/speak appropriately for different occasions.
a good handle on how much money goes out in relation to how much goes in.
etc
etc
etc
By this logic I'm not an adult yet as I fall short of some of these but since maturity is a road and not a destination I'd like to think I've progressed a lot since I was three.
In closing, think grown-up thoughts and try not to regress. Choose to replace your thinking with mature beliefs, and leave here a better you.
-LG
