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Email ThisLately the signs that I am actually an adult seem to surprise me. It doesn’t faze me that I’ve been out of college for three years, that I am buying a house or that I’ve held down a real job for two years. Even the huge bills that come every month to the mailbox with my name printed on them aren’t really a sign that I’m an adult. My friends are all married or have babies. Some of them are divorced. And some of them are working on their PhD’s.
But those are not the signs of adulthood that disturb me.
The signs of adulthood that disturb me are along the lines of my therapist is the same age as me.
I think I always knew that someday I would be an adult. Someday, I would have a “real” job. Someday, people would give me money for my services and refer their friends and family to me.
I forgot about the part of it where people my age would grow with me though. I forgot that they too would have real jobs and be paid for their services. And I forgot about the part where I would be paying those people for their services.
It isn’t weird that I’m telling my therapist about my mommy issues and talking about my ability methodically and thoroughly reason away my inner child. It’s weird that I’m paying a therapist who is my age to talk about those things.
But from here on out, it is only going to get stranger. Because eventually, the cute little kids that I once babysat for are going to have graduate degrees and real jobs and I’m going to start paying them for their services. And eventually, I’ll have kids and my kids will grow up and I’ll pay people who are the same age as my offspring for their skills.
And I’ll look at them the same way a Baby Boomer looks at a Millennial and I’ll wonder, “When did I get so old?”
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Ahhhh Baby boomers NEVER think they’re old. That’s why 60 is the new 30. That’s why they are selling so many comfort bikes now. That’s why they want to spend their retirement mountain climbing.
I think the thing I felt comforted in when I hit my mid-30s was that all my buddies were hitting their mid-30s, too. I think when you’re younger, it feels like you’re the only one getting older. And then you get to a place where you say, I wish I looked 22 again, but I am so glad I don’t feel 22.
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I remember meeting my one therapist who was my age–or possibly younger–it freaked me out! She always wanted to talk about it, too–”how does it make you feel that we’re the same age?” It made me feel sufficiently bad that I found a new therapist–but because she was horrible, not because of the age thing.
Here’s the silver lining:
If you have friends who are nurses, doctors, dentists or lawyers, you can usually get some expensive professional advice for next to nothing.
@ GenerationXpert – It cracks me up that Boomers would want to spend retirement mountain climbing when I think my ideal retirement would involve me sitting in a chair surrounded by wonderful books that I couldn’t wait to read.
@Maggie – It helps that the woman I go to is awesome so I wouldn’t dream of changing. There just still this level of oddness that comes from it and I’m still processing what to do with it.
@ Ryan – And what a great silver lining it is!
This post totally cracks me up! In my mid-twenties it seemed like I would be that way forever, like everyone around me was getting older but I felt like I was kind of “on-hold” or something, despite getting married and having kids.
Now I plan a media campaign and the camera man for our news conference or the high-priced editor is a BABY and I sit back and say wow…I am getting older. When did that happen?
Oh well, I am certainly happier now than I was 10 years ago so maybe I will just do as the old adage goes and age gracefully. My mom says so much of life gets better with age. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
oh and as a side note for GenerationXpert, I certainly hope to be mountain climbing and white water rafting when I retire!!!
“Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.”
Did I mention that when I saw that young camera man I said out loud, wow I feel old and my supervisor, who is a good twenty years older than me just looked at me and laughed!!
When my parents married 17 years ago, someone gave them a sundial with the quote “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be”. When I was a kid, I doubted the possibility of that being true. I am slowly discovering that life will get better with age but what a strange life it will be.