Growing Pains

Well, it's that time of the year again! School is about to start back up! I personally can't wait to get back to classes on Monday! I'm especially super duper excited about my Gender Communications class because I mean.. Duh.

But that's not important.

I thought I would take advantage of this season to talk a little about growing up and what I've learned since I moved out of my parents' house. (Because now that I'm 20, I'm so wise and grown up!)

1. Adults make their beds and clean their rooms. When I was younger, my room was always messy.  But as I've grown up, I've started to get really obsessive about keeping my room clean.  That's gotten a little harder since B and I got married, since now I have two peoples' worth of stuff to clean, instead of just one.  And nothing makes a room look tidier than a made bed! Plus, it's so nice to get in a nice, tidy bed at the end of a long day!

Addy's still learning how to clean her room.

2. Adults follow the care instructions on their clothes.  RIP beaded top, cashmere-like sweater, and sequined dress.  But never again will I put anything in the dryer when it's supposed to air dry.

Also, adults don't put shower curtain liners in the dryer. (Update: I've learned you can put it on the no-heat/air fluff setting and it comes out perfectly fine! Yay!)  But I mean.. When the liner starts to get gross, it can't be ignored!

The first and last time I put a liner in the dryer!

3. Adults have bills. I LOVE my job.  I work with awesome people, it's not very labor intensive, and I've actually learned a lot about computers.  And having that job is necessary for the awesome stuff like oh, buying food and living.  I had always heard people talking about their money disappearing faster than they got it, but I didn't actually understand it until I started being in charge of paying my own rent and buying my own groceries.  Adults also budget.  As easy (and fun!) as it would be for me to go on a shopping spree and max out our credit card, I know that's not a good idea. Partially because that would be a huge waste of the money B and I are both working for, and partially because we have certain amounts of money set aside for certain expenses.  And if we go over on one category, that money has to be made up out of another category.

We're still working on eating out less.

Oh, to have this kitty's money!

4. If you want something done, you have to do it. Not long after I moved to my dorm freshman year, I ran out of milk.  I thought nothing of it, thinking my mom would go get me more.  When I got home from class that day, it hit me.  My mother was two hours away.  If I wanted milk, I had to go get it.  When there was a big spider in my room, I couldn't ask my daddy to kill it.  I had to be brave and smash that little sucker by myself.

I'm sure I still have a long way to go. I mean, I may be physically 20, but I'm mentally and emotionally 5. (And Blake is 7, which is why we work so well together!) But I can definitely tell I'm already more of an adult than I was two months ago when we got married (oh yeah, happy 2 months to us!) And I've definitely grown up since I first moved out.

But I think it's all about finding that balance of your inner Peter Pan and outer adult.