…And Suddenly, We’re Old

It’s been a little more than a year since graduation, but it wasn’t until driving home from the airport after Simon’s graduation that I finally felt Old. Not old in the sense of arthritic and in need of 24/7 care, but Old in the sense of Adult. There are college graduates in the workforce more recently minted than myself. There are people newer to being grown up that me. It makes me feel like I should be more responsible.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to mentally promote myself from Student to Adult, but now that I have everything seems different. I feel like I should be working on more adult behaviors and eliminating childlike ones. I feel like I should know more about the way simple every day things work, like finances or gardening or keeping a clean house. I feel like I should be in control of my career and quit passively waiting until I go back to grad school. There’s so much advice out there for new graduates, and suddenly, I’m trying to drink it all in and do all the things required of adults.

Of course, after a year, haven’t I already defined what it means for me to be an adult, or do I still have time?