Adulting

For the young ones, they are always in a hurry to grow up. The girls with the dress and make up, the guys with asking girls out. Thinking that freedom is everything, with some cannot wait to leave the family nest the moment they can. For those that imbibe, to drink alcohol the moment it is possible. To drive and to ride motorbikes.

Ability to go everywhere and anywhere at a moments notice. Ability to buy anything they want to live the way they want to and not nagged about cleaning up the room or to throw the rubbish.

Let me just tell you that growing up sucks! Being an adult sucks and growing old gets old quickly (pun intended). I remember fondly accompanying my parents to the supermarket to buy groceries. A must have in the list will the cheese balls and marshmallows.

Later we will stop by a shop to buy those balsa wood planes powered by a rubber band. Or add to my collection of those green plastic soldiers. There’s always a squad that is still not enough. Or buying my latest collection of the Magic Roundabout following up the antics of Winnie the Pooh. Or choosing my latest Ladybird book.

As I grew, the selection went to any Enid Blyton books and an occasional Lego, adding to my collection. During those times, we never gave any thought about money and how do we pay for all that. The most that concerned us were homework, exams and grades. Later, it was about the extra curricular activities and a little later still discovering our interest in the opposite sex.

I developed early. I know a good looking lady when I see one. Even as early as when I was 9 or 10 years old. Used to like looking at the daughter of one of my father’s junior officers. As the son of the commanding officer, I sat in front while the rest sat at the back in the Land Rover.

Suddenly, before we know it, we have grown. From merely concerned about homeworks and grades, we are now concerned about paying rents and bills as we stayed away to further our studies. Soon it became about getting a job. And getting a job meant that we are now responsible to pay our taxes as well. And as we indulge we accumulate bills after bills after bills. Sometimes we make the right decisions. Often, we make the wrong ones, forcing us to pay the steep price.

With wife and children in tow, unsympathetic bosses or business environment. Recalcitrant colleagues or counterparts with anybody and everybody knocking on our doors, we tend to look back at the simpler times fondly.

Then while they knock on our doors, we knock ourselves on the head reminding ourselves that reminiscing is not going to pay bills. So snap out of it!