This shit's real

I admit that I didn't feel like I was "grown" until several years past when society started looking upon me, and expecting me to act as if, I were already grown. You know, when you finally have the confidence to stop calling colleagues "Mr." or "Dr." and address them by their given names. (Or in my case, when ESK started calling me "dork" openly.)

But, I've been thinking lately that there are also moments in your life when you're forced into real adult status and there is no going back.

Example: I have a friend from school. He is an artist. He travels the world and has many friends. I've seen an interview with him in which he describes the joy of being able to still see the world with childlike wonder. But, more recently, he's experienced a series of serious life experiences. Illness, the death of a loved one, unemployment, heartbreak, etc.. And, I imagine that he'll never look at the world with an untainted, childlike wonder again. 'Cause that shit's real.

I was thinking this again today after visiting a friend whose mother passed away this week. Her mother's illness popped up suddenly. There was hardly time for her to prepare herself or her children. And, she'll never ever experience life exactly the way she did when her mother was just a phone call away.

See why I need 5 days of consequence free drinking over christmas? For the last couple of years, this shit has been real. And, it's wearing me out.