So I guess I can say goodbye to my teenage years and move full steam ahead into official adulthood! It's funny how in one way I feel exactly the same as always, but when I remind myself that I'm 20 now, it sorta feels like I have to sit up a little straighter and have a slightly more serious look on my face!
Just for fun I was practicing that look on Sunday while I was waiting for Matty to get out of the shower. I was standing in front of the mirror in the dining room trying on several "adult" looks when all of a sudden I heard Matty clear his throat. I couldn't see him in the mirror since it's not in the right position so I had one of those startle responses you get when you've been caught doing something embarrassing. You probably know that feeling, right?
Well, as embarrassed as I felt, he was merciful and didn't make it worse by making me feel like a little kid. I mean, after all I'm an "adult" now, right?
I was trying to act like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. "I'm cool. Just checking my hair in the mirror." This is aka the "adult" response, but inside it was like I was 13 and had been caught masturbating while my Skype webcam was still on after talking to my grandparents who hadn't disconnected yet! This is aka the "kid" response.
Thinking about it now is kinda funny but I guess it takes some time to go from "kidhood" to "adulthood." I think the best thing for me to do is just be myself. I'm still a kid in some ways and I'm also an adult in others. It's not like I have to be one or the other. I'm both. And in some ways, I hope I never lose some of my "kid" ways. And I also hope I never become "just" an adult with no "kid" parts to who I am. Whew! Somebody give me a PhD. How's that for a philosophical outlook on birthdays? LOL!
I had a HUGE surprise celebration on Saturday night, which was organized by Matty and I can't wait to tell you about it. So I'm going to leave this as a cliffhanger for now. I guess the "kid" part of me is in charge of cliffhangers. The "adult" part will be writing a more well thought out post. But then again, maybe I'll get both parts to write it. Oh well. Stay tuned!
Never lose the kid part, B! I've got a decade on you and I still bite the heads off my animal crackers before I eat them, cuddle up to watch Disney cartoons, and get excited when I go to the zoo. I think it's the kid part in all of us that let's us have joy in the world. The adult part just reminds us that we have to be responsible while doing it!
ReplyDeleteI really like your last two sentences, Kris. I'm going to put that in my "Quote" file!
Delete*g* Now I feel like a rock star! ((Hugs))
DeleteI have to agree with Kris and I've got another decade on top.
ReplyDeleteThe kid part is what keeps you going on, the adult part is just in for the ride nagging you to be responsible and sometimes keeping the kid part in check.
Ahh. Another great quote! Thank you.
DeleteWhat? You don't take all your showers together? Yes, yes that is all I have retained from your post. Ha Ha. :P
ReplyDeleteGlad you had fun for your birthday Brad! And cannot wait to read more about it :)
Love your post Brad. And I think the best thing to do is like you said, just be yourself. Age shouldn't define what you are or what you have to be. And you know what they say, the most important is not the age you really have, is the age you have in your head.
*hugs to you both*
Haha! We take a lot of showers together, but Matty had just gotten back from a run and I already had mine earlier. Hmmm. I guess that shouldn't have stopped me from helping him get all soapy! LOL.
DeleteYou are absolutely right, Brad. No matter how old you get, you can still remain both. Those "kid" ways are very important to keep. Laughing, being silly, and having fun does not have to end as we age.
ReplyDeleteYou are a very wise young man. I think you have earned your unofficial PhD...LOL! :D
Thanks, Lisa.
DeleteSigned: Bradley, PhD
Brad, here is another quote you might like. It is on a refrigerator magnet that I gave my husband a few years ago on his birthday.
Delete"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years!" (Abe Lincoln)
Bradley,
ReplyDeleteI admit it. I was thinking the same as Carnell. What, you two shower separately? :)
As for the age thing - my philosophy has always been when each birthday approaches - today I am just one day older than yesterday.
Never lose your ability to think like/be a kid. That is what will truly keep you young. The adult part is just here to pay the bills.
Hugs to you both.
I like the "just one day older than yesterday" perspective! ((HUGS))
DeleteI think you've got the right idea, Brad. I know some people who "act their age" - it does not look fun.
ReplyDeleteI think I know some of those same people, Ann Marie!
DeleteJust remember Brad, growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.
ReplyDeleteOh man! Another great quote! Thanks, Pam.
DeleteSo much wisdom going on here!
I turn 26 next week and I still have not learned to sit up straight or fly right.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Happy Birthday, Ian!
DeleteMy hubby wears a suit and works in an office by day, but as soon as he comes home, he changes into his jammies and acts like a total goofball. :-) I've always been the more serious one--it's just how I'm wired, but I love that he makes me laugh every day.
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome that you guys are documenting your thoughts/feelings in this blog. You'll be able to look back at it in years to come and relive all these awesome memories. :-) I can barely remember what it was like to be 20!!!
Your hubby sounds like Matty. And I have to say I'm getting more like him!
DeleteCLIFFHANGER....
ReplyDeleteI've been re-reading your early posts and you two were always leaving us with cliffhangers!! LOL
I love that Daffy Duck comment! It is only too true!!
Check in tomorrow, Alder. ;)
DeleteTwenty was my most difficult BD psychologically. I wasn't a teenager anymore. The good news - all birthdays will be a breeze after this lol!
ReplyDeleteOh good. I'm all for breezing through! ;)
DeleteLol. Too funny,B! Where they good "adult looks" you were giving that mirror?
ReplyDelete-Shell
LOL. Yeah. I guess I was trying on some "serious" adult looks that made me appear mature! It's all pretty funny now. lol ;)
DeleteHa! I think we've all done that before. I bet you looked handsome as an older man! :D
Delete-Shell
Great post, Brad. Age and birthdays are just about hitting some milestones, that's all. What we are and what we think and do, don't change with the numbers :)
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to hitting the big 30 but that wouldn't make a dent in what I already am! :D I guess that is the big 2-0 rebelling in me!
Found this quote on Goodreads:
ReplyDelete“Romance novels are birthday cake and life is often peanut butter and jelly. I think everyone should have lots of delicious romance novels lying around for those times when the peanut butter of life gets stuck to the roof of your mouth.” ― Janet Evanovich
Some many great quotes here. Just wanted to say I think you're fantabulous no matter the age! And you'd be surprised how many anniversaries of my "29th" birthday I've had. LOL.....
ReplyDelete*hugs*
You know, I am somewhat fond of pointing out that a college freshman is only a high school senior 3 months later. That transition does not make someone more grown up or adult. Transitions happen more slowly than that. (Unless some sort of epiphany occurs.)
ReplyDeleteIn the same way, just because someone is 20 now doesn't mean that suddenly he has to be an adult as opposed to a teenager. You're still learning what that means, and there's nothing wrong with that. Don't feel you have to be an 'adult' because you're not longer technically a 'teenager'. I think that's a hard thing for many people to swallow because they're in a rush to show others how 'grown up' they are. (And, in some cases, that's necessary because someone they know refused to let them grow up.) But there's no rush to grow up. It'll come.
The same is true for when you graduate from college. Though that is certainly the point where more people feel like they're beginning their 'adult' lives... it still doesn't make them 'adult'. You're still learning at that point too.
You still have a right to be goofy, silly, zany, and child-like, even when you're 30 or 50 or 70. Those things don't go away. Even us 'older' folks still get caught doing silly things in the mirror occasionally (and jumping out of our skin like a cat clinging to the ceiling by its claws). And that's cool too. =)
Same feeling over here. I never want to loose the kid part in me. People that lack that inner kid are just boring. I'm turning 30 but it seems all the good experiences in my life so far are started by the kid part, the adult part just drags my ass to work and makes there's some money on the bank and food in the kitchen.
ReplyDelete