Slices of Adulthood
Sometimes, I can't believe that I am a grown-up. It is ridiculous to think that I am responsible for three little lives, that I have "assets" and a life insurance policy and retirement. I can't believe that teenagers look at me and think, 'Wow, she is old.' And yet, I don't think that any one of those moments (or even the combination of them all) makes me an "adult". Legally, I was an adult at the age of 18, even though I still couldn't buy alcohol or rent a car. When they let Jason and me leave the hospital with Connor, I was only 22 and terrified. I held back tears the whole way home; I was so scared (and hormonal). We couldn't believe that they just let us walk out with him. No training manual or comprehensive test required. We were automatically parents. But that, in itself, did not make me an adult either. I remember a drive home from a shopping trip with my mom and my kids. The kids were sleeping in the back, and as we were talk...