One Sign You’re Not a Proper Grown-Up Yet
You're elected President of the United States
Posted on 10/24/2013 12:06:36 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Legally, you’re an adult once you turn 18. By society’s standards, you come of age at more like 21. But as most of us come to realise, you’re not really a proper grown-up for at least 10 years after that. In case you’re not quite sure whether you’ve reached total independence, here are some signs real adulthood has yet to sink in…
1. You’ve been working full-time for six years but you’re still waiting for the summer holidays to happen
2. You sometimes eat cereal for lunch…
3. …and sandwiches for dinner
4. Your ultimate career goal is to get to the point where you can go to work in your pyjamas
5. You go to exhibitions and galleries… using your parents’ Tate membership cards
6. Watching Question Time makes you feel like some kind of wizened old man…
7. …as does listening to Radio 4…
8. …you haven’t quite mustered up the courage for Newsnight yet
9. You’ve been known to return from a weekly food shop with six bottles of wine, three packets of Supernoodles and a single apple
10. You and your housemates do clean the place, but you can’t get it to look as clean as home did
11. You’re still too scared to leave voicemails
12. Your first instinct when a light bulb goes is to call the landlord…
13. …But you realise that’s unacceptable, so you call your dad
14. You don’t usually take your laundry home to Mum, but if you’re going home anyway, you bring a few bits and bobs for her to do for you
15. You’ve realised there’s no point in buying sugar, salt or pepper for your kitchen when you can get those little sachets free in so many food outlets…
16. …and the plastic cutlery is useful for when washing up seems too stressful
17. You spend 30 per cent of your time thinking about ways you could justify getting a puppy even though you work full-time and are out most evenings
18. You do not own a toolbox
19. You do not own an iron and are pretty sure your creased-shirt look is catching on at work
20. You don’t complain in restaurants because it makes you feel too much like your Grandma Joan
21. You eat baked beans for the last 10 days of each pay packet
22. When you see a parent with their toddler in the street, you identify with the toddler and not the parent…
23. …and you wish you could be in a pushchair too
24. You stopped being a student long ago, but you’ve extended your NUS card through trickery and still enjoy discounts almost everywhere
25. Similarly, you’re over 26, but magically still have a Young Person’s Rail Card
26. You’ve lived away from home for years, but your bank statements still go to your parents’ address
27. You took a coat to be dry-cleaned once and talked about it for days because it made you sound so grown-up
28. You still make a Christmas list each year…
29. …and it includes things like ‘Food processor’, ‘Laptop insurance’ and ‘Money’
30. When things get tough – really, really tough – you call your mum
I’m 56, been married 30 years, and my wife would probably argue that I’m STILL not there. :)
I’ve paid my own bills and changed light bulbs longer than the author has probably been alive but do half the other things on the list. Nothing wrong with cereal and sandwiches or working in your pjs.
Pretty good definition!
I'll be 60 next year, and I'm guilty of (at least) #'s 1,3,4,28, and up until a couple of years ago 30.
I look forward to summer vacation, because I'm worn out from my son's activities: school, Boy Scouts, sports, etc. Gives me a chance to recharge my batteries.
Since August, this has been our weekly schedule:
Mon: Boy Scouts, 7:30 - 8:30
T-W-Th: Football practice, 6:30 - 8:30. I generally get my walking in while he's at practice.
Sat: Game day
Sun: Church, followed by religious ed, 6:15 - 7:30 (I teach his class - Old Testament)
As to #30, I spoke with my mom at least once a week, but she's been afflicted with Alzheimer's for the past two years. It's tough, she has no memory of her brother, my sister, or me.
Yum. And, I love old-fashioned oats straight out of the box. Dinner, lunch, makes no difference.
Hey now, I resemble that remark!
Son #3. His mail goes into a draw on the table under the TV. He swings by about once a week to pick it up
Been living on his own for 6 years.
How about not having a bank account?
Me? I’ve had a checking account since I was in college. The two young women (29, 26) living with me pay everything, including the rent, in cash. Neither of them have ever had any bank account. The 29-yr.-old shares her parents’ cellphone plan. Both of them rely on me for Wi-Fi.
I don’t get it. Is this a generational thing, or is it just them?
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