8/5/10

Adulthood

I was trolling around on the internet today looking for a good birthday-related quote to end my post with and found a few good ones, so I thought I'd share my favorites.

-Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened. ~Jennifer Yane

-Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself. ~Tom Wilson

-The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age. ~Lucille Ball

-Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. ~Mark Twain

-Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. ~Chili Davis

I'm 21 today, and gosh but I don't feel it. It's only the added responsibilities that make me feel any different from when I turned 18. Everyone balks when I tell them I'm not going out drinking tonight, and I guess I can understand that. Ours is mostly a society where underage drinking is a thrilling, commonplace law to break, and when you come of legal age, you can drink to your heart's content, so why not? Moderate we are not. I said here once that I have fewer sober stories than a 17-year-old girl I work with had drunk stories, and it's likely true of a lot of teens.
People are still pushing for the drinking age to be 18, saying that if you're old enough to vote and be drafted, you're old enough to consume alcohol. It's valid reasoning, but it won't stop underage drinking, and it won't stop kids from binge-drinking. Since we slap our kids on the wrist for showing any interest in alcohol at a young age, I think it works the same way as telling them they can't have sweets before dinner: they just want it more. If, say, your family were having wine with dinner, and your child (of a reasonable age, of course, say 12 or older) wanted to try some, would you tell them no? Would you let them have a sip?
I believe that by allowing them to try a little of it, under your supervision, won't hurt. If they decide they like it, maybe they can have their own glass with a mouthful or two in it. But as long as you explain to them that they can only have small amounts, isn't it better than shutting them down automatically? Children covet the things that make them adults. They want the things that we show interest in. I can't count the number of times I've used that trick on the kids at the daycare center, or on my cousins. It's how I got them to eat their peas.
And of course, kids learn from their parents. Parents who drink a lot obviously won't be able to teach their kids about moderation and what is and isn't appropriate drinking, but that's part of a whole other lecture.

I didn't intend to get so serious or preach-y, but I allowed myself to ramble.

Anyway, next weekend Patrick, Bob, Caryn and I are going down to Wildwood for three days as a joint birthday-celebration. That weekend is directly in between mine and Caryn's birthdays, so we figure we'll celebrate together. It's why I didn't take today off of work, so I have to get going shortly to get ready. I'm working 3-9, and if I get out on time (or early, we'll see how busy we are) Patrick and I plan on going to go see Despicable Me at 9:20.

Alyssa went in to the hospital yesterday evening to be induced, and I just got an update from a friend that's with her that she just started having contractions a short while ago. I've got my fingers crossed that everything goes well.

"Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternatives."
~Maurice Chevalier

3 comments:

Owl Chick said...

Happy birthday, chica!

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. --John Barrymore

Donna Lee said...

It's hard to believe that you're 21! Getting drunk is way overrated and I'm glad you seem to appreciate that.

Happiest of Happy Birthdays my darling Katie.

roxie said...

Joyous felicitations on the anniversary of your natal event!

"It's not the years. It's the miles." Indiana Jones