Hello and welcome to The Museum of Me. This month's installment asks a question: What did you most look forward to about growing up?
The answer is an easy one for me. When I was five or six years old, I distinctly remember telling my mother that I couldn't wait to grow up because then I could do whatever I wanted. To her credit, she didn't laugh herself silly but she did tell me to hang my clothes up and no more backtalk. To me, it looked like adults got to do whatever they wanted while I was stuck hanging up my clothes, taking out the trash, going to school every weekday, and doing homework. Once my mother went back to work when I was 11 or 12, I had to add making dinner, watching my younger sister, emptying the cat's litter box, and doing laundry to my endless list of chores. Oh, woe was me!
But I had big dreams. I had a whole list of what I was going to do when I grew up. The first was to put my feet on the furniture. This was one of my father's pet peeves, and I understood why we weren't supposed to do it, but I still railed against being told what to do.
Another thing was that I was going to eat candy whenever I wanted.
I was going to read as much as I desired without being told I should go outside and play.
I was going to own at least one tiara.
Somewhere along the line, it began to sink in that growing up did not mean that I got to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. As we all know, there are bills to pay, grocery shopping to do, dinner to prepare every. single. night, toilets to scrub, carpets to vacuum, laundry that never ends, taxes to do, insurance to purchase, doctor appointments, health concerns, and a myriad of other responsibilities. And I know I'm privileged and have things relatively easy. I have a house to live in, more than enough to eat, health insurance, a reliable vehicle, and I'm no longer responsible for raising children daily.
But yesterday after I fielded two different early-morning calls from my kids about some dramatic issues they were having, did two loads of laundry, hung them on the line, folded and put the clothes away when they were dry, took care of all of the garden produce, paid three different bills, went grocery shopping, and made dinner, I did get to sit down, put my feet up on the furniture, eat some gumdrops, and read. I didn't watch TV because there was nothing I wanted to watch, but I did stay up late (as long as you consider 8:45 pm late.)
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| Me, living the wild life - reading, eating candy, with my feet on the furniture at 8:45 pm. |
I still don't own a tiara but someday I may peruse Amazon and look for one.
What did you most look forward to about growing up?
We'll be back on the second Friday of November with a brand-new installation. Thank you for visiting The Museum of Me!
You are such a wild thing!! LOL Last night I looked at the clock at 8:30 and wondered if it was late enough that I could go to bed. I was so tired (I stayed up a bit more though). A few weeks back when I met Dee for coffee and knitting, there was a woman coming out of Panera with a tiara on - a birthday tiara! And, then, on our cog railroad adventure going up Mt. Washington, there was a group of women all celebrating their 60th birthdays and each of them had a birthday tiara on!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't every kid want the same things? I certainly wanted all the things you wanted, then I grew up and wished I could go back to being a kid - LOL! Human nature is the most dangerous thing that all of us deal with, I think. You certainly deserve a tiara, Bonny!
ReplyDeleteYou were such a wild thing, Bonny! :) I was in bed shortly after 8pm last night...yes, we are living on the edge here. LOL
ReplyDeleteI was chuckling as I read this because I very much had the same idea of adulthood as a child! I think part of the process of becoming a certified adult is realizing that none of the things you thought you'd be able to do are actually possible or compatible with making a living. But a tiara is totally allowable -- you can and should wear a tiara while you do the laundry or cook dinner or do whatever it is you have to do!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely time to get that tiara, Bonny! After all those years of making dinner every. single. night. you deserve it! Thanks for sharing your wanting-to-be-a-grown-up stories. They are wonderful -- and (apparently) quite universal. (It was so disappointing to find out how . . . dull and tedious . . . grown up life really was, non?) XOXO
ReplyDeleteI couldn't wait to be an adult, not sure why though. Love the tiara dreaming. Don't we all have an imaginary one of some sort or other?
ReplyDeleteAll those same things including the tiara. I actually could have bought one at Disney any time we went, but I never did. I may regret that now that Disney is not a local thing for me anymore.
ReplyDeleteI told my mom I was never going to grow up. I didn't want to do all the things she had to do to cook, clean, and take care of kids. I was the oldest and all those other kids were such a pain! I was going to live in my room forever because I liked it (my room was pink!). She told me she'd charge me rent and I'd have to get a job to pay it. I told her I'd get a fun job! Anyway, eventually I couldn't wait to get away from home and became a regular (,but a little lazy, adult).
ReplyDeleteI love your list of things you would do as a grown up. And sure, there are chores and duties, but there's still a lot more freedom than we had as kids, I think.
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