(“Adulting” – The Action of Being an Adult)

Sometimes I don’t feel like being an adult. Sometimes I just feel like ignoring the responsibilities that adults have to deal with every day.  Sometimes I don’t want to have to follow social norms and filter my words so that they fit into society’s expectation of how an adult is supposed to communicate. Sometimes I want to have a full on public hissy fit and have it be okay.

The other day I was able to witness my child alter-ego in full form. I was in a crowded store shopping for something I must have needed, not just wanted, because to know me is to know I don’t enjoy shopping. Playing into gender stereotypes here for a minute, I think I shop like a dude. I enter stores determined to get exactly what I need, to do so in the quickest amount of time and with determination to not waste energy taking the long path to my desired purchases. I plan in my head how to get in and get out!

While on my path to obtain the items I needed to buy, I turned a corner and there she was. An adorable toddler lying on the floor full on screaming. She wasn’t waving her arms or kicking her feet. She just was on her back, arms and legs stretched out and she was communicating her feelings in a real clear manner. Her mom was un-phased by her daughter’s moment on the floor. Mom was close by and kept on shopping. As I passed by, mom looked up and gave me a nice friendly smile. She was clearly not rocked by her child’s behaviors. She was just letting her have her moment. I wish adults could allow each other to have our moments. Instead we have to shove our moments down, hidden away inside ourselves so as to not disrupt the fake façade of adult life.

By the time I reached the end of the aisle, the little girl was on her feet, wiping her tears from her face and moving on to the rest of her day.  It dawned on me that after the shopping trip, the little chick was probably going to go home and get to take a long nap! She was living the good life and she didn’t even know it. I knew it though and was longing to be her for a day.

As adults we can’t let our true emotions hang out for all to see and seldom do we get to take long naps in the middle of each day. Instead we shove ourselves into socially constructed boxes and go do adult life as we are taught. Obviously, being an adult isn’t all bad and comes with many perks. There are just some things I wish were different. I would like to recommend that we all try and find moments in our daily lives where we can step out of our adult constraints and be silly or express our true emotions or take a good long nap. Let’s not get so far away from our light-hearted kid selves that we completely forget what it feels like.

What are some ways you can you set aside adultness for a little while each day?

Keep Dreaming Big!

Shannon

You can also view this post at www.plaidforwomen.com