When I was young, I thought I could do anything. I saw the ‘mature’ people of the world as fools after a fashion, and quickly decided my adult life would not follow the same trajectory. When I did finally come around to having responsibilities I was quickly reminded that responsibility is the gateway drug to maturity. Once you have bills, and a job to pay those bills, and began to develop a family and a career, BAM! you’re mature. In some ways maturity is a narrowing of options until you reach a static formality in what and how you do things day to day. Some people enjoy calling this being ‘grounded’, ‘growing roots’, or ‘being a part of a community’. I believe those terms, when connected with this false idol of maturity are destructive.
Being mature doesn’t have to mean a lack of creativity. It doesn’t preclude getting up one day and deciding to go to Taiwan for some really good fried rice. It does mean that if you do make that drastic choice, you’ll do it without blowing up the day to day world you live in. I’m coming around to accepting to routine way I handle every day, even if I don’t always appreciate it.
In my mind every day of my life was supposed to be a new challenge; a new opportunity to learn, grow, and change. I envisioned it being more like Batman than Mr. Mom, but I didn’t realize how much I loved the Mr. Mom side of the equation until I was in it.
Some Thoughts:
- I’m coming around to a deeper understanding of what frazzled means.