Tuesday, July 26, 2011

On Being a Grown-Up

Life has been so hectic lately that I have neglected you, dear blog readers, and for that I am sorry. Somewhere between working full time, a daily two hour commute, random chores, cooking dinner, and spending what's left of the day with my husband, Gathered Heart has been put on the back burner. I have a ton inspiring things to share, I just haven't had the time to do so. Things at Bethel are beginning to settle a bit, so hopefully my regular posting will resume soon.

That is why the weekend exists. Two glorious days of general nothingness to sleep in, reflect on the previous week, read a book outside, bake banana nut bread, watch movies, and catch up on the fun things in life (blog posts included.)

Photo by amanda fales phography. Quilt from Sharon!

I can't believe how quickly my life has been changing. Not even a year ago, I was fresh out of college, working as a publishing house design intern and planning my wedding. My mom made the meals and my dad occasionally paid for my gas. Now... I'm married to my best friend. We live on a lake and have our own garden. I have a full time job that I absolutely love. I wear pencil skirts. I run errands and cook dinner almost every night -- and these are healthy, legit meals, folks, not my frozen pizza wonders of collegiate past. So many life milestones, all accomplished in the matter of 10 months.

I'm a grown up.

Whaaaat? In all honesty, even though all the pieces are there, it doesn't really feel like I'm actually an adult just yet. I still want to have ice cream for dinner and stay up late watching Netflix. I've been needing to schedule appointments for the dentist and optometrist for months now. I occasionally shop at Forever21 (and I'm nearly 24.) I still get excited when the fireflies start to flicker every evening. And I still make frozen pizza on the weekends.

As much as I have learned this past year about being a wife and being an adult, I feel stuck somewhere in-between. I find myself wanting to be taken seriously as a professional, but also wanting to hold on to my youth for as long as I can. Is it possible have both? When exactly are we supposed to make the transition from twenty-somethings to actual adults? Which also has me thinking, do creatives ever really grow up? Perhaps part of our creativity comes from having the limitless, imaginative mind that most have lost after adolescence.... but I think that's an entirely different post for another time.

I just thought I'd share some real talk with you on growing up. Living is such a strange and wonderful thing.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Katherine,

I feel your pain. I wonder those very same things every day. It feels so weird and new and exciting to be where we are at!

lizzie said...

love that photo, first of all.
second, i go through phases where i feel like a legit grown-up and phases where i feel like a total adolescent still. i hope they still come in phases, because the grown-up days aren't nearly as exciting, yeah?

michael ann said...

Oh I know just how you feel, my mr and I are coming up on two years of marriage but we still eat dinner on our couch in front of the tv every night... With some things, we're in no rush to grow up ;)

Kate said...

" Perhaps part of our creativity comes from having the limitless, imaginative mind that most have lost after adolescence.... "

^^ LOVE. THIS.

Also, there is absolutely nothing wrong with frozen pizza for dinner. ;) At least Erick and I moved away from eating a whole one each... pretty sure that's why I gained 50 pounds when I was pregnant! lol

Katherine Ross said...

I knew I wasn't alone in this one :)

Lizzie - you're so right, being a grown up isn't nearly as fun!

Michael Ann - I'm right there with you... even though we have an actual dinner table, we eat off the coffee table every night!

Kate - Haha, I eat a whole pizza by myself too... but I can't justify it with an eating-for-two joke :)

Sarah Giove said...

I adore your honesty about growing up. I think, in order to be creative, there is a part of you that has to keep in touch with your inner child. Thanks for sharing your thoughts-- and cute pics :)