What Is a Grown-Up?

What is a "grown-up"?

As a little kid we thinks grown-ups have complete freedom and all of the answers. While it doesn't take long for us to realize that they don't have all of the answers, it sometimes takes a little longer to realize they have nothing close to complete freedom.

Even as I grew up and realized that those things weren't true of grown-ups, I still held them to some standard of maturity. Grown-ups are supposed to be knowledgable, polite, and civil - they are to maintain a solid reputation.

It has just been recently that I've come to notice that age doesn't have anything to do with maturity. While they should logically be correlated, they often have no relation to one another. Someone who is 20 can easily handle their lives with more grace and maturity than, say, a 35 year old. They may not have the same responsibilities yet, but they have more of a handle on LIFE - as a whole.

The older I get, the more I realize the only thing that qualifies someone as a "grown-up" is age. They don't have all the answers. They don't have the freedoms we dream of as children. They don't always act their age. They are just as lost as kids are, just in different ways, and they are even more scared - because with knowledge comes fear.

I find myself afraid all the time. The future holds so many responsibilities - so many ways to get pulled under either emotionally, financially, or in any number of other conditions. As I age, it makes me even more afraid that adults are beginning to admit to me that they don't really know what they're doing. That means I no longer have the comforting illusion that there is someone to guide me through this. Everyone is in it together, but no one can tell you how to live. There are no rules, there are no warnings - you just have to keep moving forward and deal with whatever life throws at you.

Revelations like these come to me frequently, but I consistently find this one particularly frightening.

There is but one exception that I've observed over the course of my lifetime.

Looking at my mom I can see that she is an amazing example of what I always thought a grown-up should be. She possesses all of the aforementioned qualities. Obviously she doesn't know all of the answers and she doesn't have any more freedom than anyone else, but she has poise, grace, and maturity. She is kind and compassionate. She is loyal - and she has been there for me and will continue to be there for me every step of the way.

She is the only adult that I've ever known that is a "grown-up".