Do you know what kids always want? To grow up. To be a little older. To be a little taller. To be a little bigger. This is because they are kids, and they have no idea of the crushing responsibility that awaits them as an adult. Although they may have some idea. Ruby told me the other day, “Dad, I think being a grown-up is probably really hard.” This is a good point.
Because you know what adults always want? To be a kid again. To be a little younger. To have a little more energy. To be taken care of a little bit. To go back to the days before bills, and contracts, and mortgages, and taxes. This is because they are adults, and they have completely forgotten the crushing lack of freedom and respect that most kids live with every day. “Because I said so,” used to be a good rationale for you to do something, remember?
This is why, if I ever had the chance to relive any time in my life, it would absolutely be the summer after my senior year in high school. I don’t know if this is universal but, for me at least, this was the intersection of maximum freedom and minimum responsibility. The two streams crossed for one glorious season, as my freedom that had grown every year finally hit its peak and my responsibility of rent and food shopping and student loans had not yet begun. It was exhilarating.
I spent that summer with my friends, having fun, laughing, driving, falling in love, and paying no mind to consequences. I had no children, no health concerns, no career ambitions, no plans, and a safety net of parental support if something did go wrong. Sure, I may have had more freedom when I wasn’t living with my mother, but by then I had to deal with life on my own, and it was hard. And yes, I had less responsibility as a middle-schooler, but I also had little to no control over my day-to-day schedule and life.
Being adult is certainly a trade-off. Some good, some bad, but there’s not really much choice in the matter. You are going to get older and continue to make decisions and have to take responsibility for them. Either that or lie and tell everyone you had nothing to do with them, but you can only do that for so long… Yes, adulthood is hard sometimes, and on this Throwback Thursday, I am remembering a time when the biggest worry was which movie to go to first and who to invite.