Spice things up a bit!

britt2112

So, I was reading the posts today about this board dying out. I typically just lurk on these pages and don't post very often but I thought maybe this could strike up an interesting conversation.

Can you remember a specific time when you realized that you were not a kid anymore? Is there a time where you thought I'm a grownup now?

Wrkn925

I'm sucking at keeping up with the craziness on E today, so I'll play.

Umm, my little sister is 13.  She is becoming a teenager, and hitting it like a brick wall.  I remember the day she was born, and she's been the most awesome kid for so long.  She used to think I hung the moon. 
Now, she wears skinny jeans, rolls her eyes, and reminds me my clothes are out of style.  She makes me feel ancient. I'm 25.
She says things like: "Miley Cyrus is sooo last week.  How do you not know this stuff?"

coastiegrl25

The kid thing not so sure...but the adult thing happened when I stopped being carded.

motoLyn

Oh I had several of those moments, the most notable one was when I had broken up with an ex and the truck that he was driving was under my name.  At that moment, I had only me to figure out what to do with a 20K+ truck that had A LOT of payments left on it.  Couldn't ask my parents for help, so it was something I had to decide for myself.  Figure out a way not to ding my credit, not to have the truck repossesd and not to make payments anymore.  I was a young and foolish girl to think that HE was was the man i wanted to be with for the rest of my life when those around me knew it wasn't. 

deburnin

I'm still in school so there are times I still feel like I'm in high school, but the other day I realized that this will be the first Christmas I don't wake up in my parents' house and I got very sad.

I still don't feel very grown up though. I mean, sure I pay bills and have moved out, but I still feel young. Sometimes I feel like I'm not old enough to be doing what I'm doing.

Elle1036

I can think of several:

The first time my parents saw me drunk.  The fact that they thought it was funny and not reprehensible was a real eye-opener.

The first time I leased an apartment without having one of my parents co-sign.

And (for a TK-relevant example) once, when BF and I had been dating for about a year, my friend's mother asked me very seriously if we were planning to get married soon.  I didn't feel near old enough for that, so the fact that other people apparently thought I was really took me aback.

loves2shop4shoes

Hmm...there are so many to choose from.

I'll just use this week's example:  FI and I decided to have a dinner party and watch a slasher movie with friends instead of going to a raging house party complete with open bar for Halloween.

calindi

In college, before everyone went home for Thanksgiving, we decided to have our own potluck turkey dinner.  I made a turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes... and then I realized that I had cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner (granted, not ON Thanksgiving, but still) and it was sort of one of those "Wow, I grew up" moments.

Also, the first time I booked a flight without having to ask my parents or have them pay for it.  That was a big moment.

Blue & White

I felt like "old" when I turned 16, because all our babysitters growing up were 16.  So I thought that was "so old"...yea, I was wrong.

THEN, when I turned 25, that seemed like "hey, you're an adult now" but actually paying for my own medical insurance - that's the most adult thing, I think.  And fighting with the DMV to get my car in my name.  All those crazy adult things.

It also makes me feel a little old that a lot of my friends are getting married and/or preggo - are we really that old already?!

Wrkn925

Elle- RE: being around parents drunk.

Dad drunk dialing me, that made me feel like an adult.  He takes his parental status seriously, and he thought it was hilarious.

britt2112

I just realized that I never posted mine .

I'm the oldest of six siblings. I always thought that my mom knew everything when it came to raising kids, illnesses, etc. I went to nursing school after high school and worked in an urgent care setting for 3 years. The first time my mom called me and asked me for advice on what she should do for my little brother who was sick amazed me. I couldn't believe that the roles were reversed and I was the one giving the advice to her.

My boyfriend and I bought a car. We shopped around and bought the car ourselves without any input from our parents.

Sometimes "adult life" just slaps you in the face!!

HeartOverMind

I don't feel very grown up...granted, I am still 20. But I still live at home, I do pay bills, and I have my own car that I make payments on (but the car is still in my dad's name). I hope to gain a lot of experience when I go away to school in January, so ask me then...

AudgiePodge

I'm still waiting for the grown up feeling.

[Deleted User]

I had to grow up pretty quick when I was 14.  My dad was a cop and there was an officer involved shooting (my dad's partner was killed and my dad had to return fire) - unfortunately officer involved shootings are way too common right now, but back then it was a still pretty much a rarity.  My dad was pretty useless for a while, of course, and my mom was going crazy with media and phone calls, etc (we helped get the rules changed where they now won't release an officer's name for a day or two), so I had to step up and help out.  I remember my mom telling the dept psychologist a few months later that she "had her teenager back a little bit", but it really was never the same.  I've never really fit in with people my own age, I tend to gravitate to people older than me.

Another "I'm really growed up" moment was when I bought my house.  My parents let me live at home until I was 27 because they knew I was saving for a house.  I was working and paying all of my own bills (had my own car, insurance, etc) and helped out around the house, so they didn't see any sense making me move out to an apartment and not be able to save the money.  It was really surreal when I signed the paperwork and was handed the keys and the only person's name on the mortgage was mine.

Starlight Kel

In some ways I feel grown up and others I don't.  Some people bring out the immature me and others bring out the mature.  It's kind of weird but nice because it's always fun to just enjoy life a little.  I have 1 sister who is 7 years older than me and 1 that is 7 years younger.  My older sister tends to bust my chops about still living at home and going to school because she was married when she was my age.  My little sister is very immature and I always have fun drooling over the newest Twilight and Harry Potter with her. 

I think my aha- adult moment was after meeting BF and realizing that I needed to have some sort of plan for the future.  I went back to college and got a real job to get rid of my $12k credit card debt.  I had to get myself out and am almost out of it.  That makes me feel pretty grown up that I learned from my mistakes and did it on my own.

Elle1036

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_spice-things-up-bit?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:907b0a0b-f53d-4107-b104-268799c7f33bPost:84e75927-017f-490b-ae09-5c0cf931ae64">Re: Spice things up a bit!</a>:
[QUOTE]Elle- RE: being around parents drunk. Dad drunk dialing me, that made me feel like an adult.  He takes his parental status seriously, and he thought it was hilarious.
Posted by Wrkn925[/QUOTE]

Ahhh I love it!  My mom drunk-dialed me a few weeks ago!  Oh, it was hilarious.  I couldn't figure out why she was in such a good mood and talking so loudly until she mentioned that she had been out for dinner with some friends and tried ouzo for the first time.

whereyat

Hmm, I guess it was the job-hunting after college/grad school, and also the not wanting to go out to bars/clubs anymore....sigh, those were the days , nonetheless, I wouldn't want to go back.

nottheonlydreamer44

@ Britt - your SN is throwing me off so much, I'm Britt too and my birthday is 1212 and we're both in Cincinnati. Everytime I read something from you I keep thinking "did I change my SN?" lol

Anyway, I suppose I've pretty "grown up" for a while. But my 3 biggest moments were probably living by myself for the first time (found a house on my own, bought all my own stuff) after my divorce (no the marriage did not make me feel adult, lol).

Buying a car in my own name was a huge deal, randomly picking up and flying alone to see a friend at the last minute. I had never ever traveled alone before, it was definitely an "adult" moment.

Oh and I guess buying a house and actually having a mortgage (I almost threw up at closing). Lol.

jemmini6

My 'grown-up' realization was when I got to college.  For the obvious reasons that I didn't have anyone to answer to but myself, but I also felt way more grown-up than all my peers. 

I was absolutely astounded that I was literally the only one doing it all on my own.  I paid for my own books, tuition, housing, food, car, gas, phone, etc, etc etc.  I never received a dime from my parents for college.  In fact, I haven't received a dime from my parents since I got my first job at 16 (obviously I didn't have to pay for housing or dinners, but if I wanted ANYTHING outside of that, I was on my own)

Some of my friends didn't even knew how to write a check (like literally didn't know how to fill one out), or do their own laundry, etc.  Now that I've been out of college for almost 2 years, many of my friends STILL rely almost 100% financially on their parents.  Sometimes I just want to tell them to cut the umbilical cord already.  Like seriously, it's time to sink or swim...

leia1979

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_spice-things-up-bit?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:907b0a0b-f53d-4107-b104-268799c7f33bPost:65f55ac1-f34a-419a-933e-4d85c320d28a">Re: Spice things up a bit!</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm still in school so there are times I still feel like I'm in high school, but the other day I realized that this will be the first Christmas I don't wake up in my parents' house and I got very sad. :( I still don't feel very grown up though. I mean, sure I pay bills and have moved out, but I still feel young. Sometimes I feel like I'm not old enough to be doing what I'm doing.
Posted by deburnin[/QUOTE]

I went through this too, last year. Christmas and Easter were a big change.

I actually was a little upset when we first got engaged. I told FI, "This means I have to grow up now." For some reason, I felt like my parents were going to disown me, like getting married meant I wouldn't be their child anymore. It was weird.

meamolly

I am still a kid. I am not yet an adult lol. My family still has the "kids" Christmas party and the "Adult" Christmas party. the funny thing is that most of the "kids" are twenty or older. I will let you know when I ,at the ripe age of 28, finally think I am an adult

zipis1

Pfft. I'm still a kid ;P That's why people I knew in high school poppin' out babies are are just wrong. That's fo adults to do :P

fmb2011

When I became a mom...it really hit me when I made one of my son's first doctor's appt/check ups and I said "Hi I'm Mrs. mylastname, Chase's mom I need to make his appt" and right then I thought "OMG! I'm somebody's mom!!" It's hard not to feel like an adult when you're somebody's mom.