You Know You're an Adult When ...

There are those moments in our 20s that you do or say something that makes you realize, I am a grown up!  When did that happen?  Last time I checked I was still a bubbly sorority girl, didn’t know what a budget was, and dating boys based on their fraternity affiliation.  Clearly times have changed.  Here is a list of the moments when you realize you are a grown up.  

1) You ASK for kitchen gadgets for Christmas/ Birthday, and receiving them actually makes you excited.  

I truly love my new Crock Pot and plan on asking for a food processor for my birthday.  You know what they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.  Too bad I use these utensils to make my tummy bigger.  Kate Moss had it wrong!  Several things taste better than skinny feels.  

2) You are up to watch Good Morning America every weekday.

My day would not begin without Robin, George, Josh, Lara, and Sam keeping me informed, making me laugh, and bringing tears to my eyes.  One thing that does bother me is all the ladies that have signs that say, “Marry me Josh!”  They are jumping the gun!  If I was going to have a sign outside GMA it would say, “Josh, go on a date with me?”  He obviously is not going to marry someone without getting to know them.  DUH!

3) You have more than one suit in your closet and you actually wear them.  

To me nothing says adult with a real job more than a suit.  I only wear mine on certain occasions, but they are there at the ready.  I even have a seersucker one - every Southern professional should!  At this juncture, I would like to take the time to say I do not own nor will I ever endorse a woman’s pant suit!  We are not men, so why should we try to be by wearing the most unflattering form of women’s clothing ever invented?  It may be a man’s world, but I will not forge ahead in a pant suit. (Sorry Hillary!)  

4) You start DVRing the Nightly News.

The fact that you even watch the news proves you are a grown up.  If you allow it to take up precious space on your DVR, there is no denying you are an actual adult.  So you may watch it drunk after happy hour.  The sheer fact that it is there on your DVR makes it an adult move.  (This is a shout out to Chloe.  I am too poor for DVR.)  

5) When you go shopping with everything you try on you say “and I could wear it to work.”  

Lets face it, when you are an adult about 80% of the time you are in “work” clothes.  I find the need to justify everything I buy.  When you make peanuts - seriously circus elephants make more than me - you justify why you are putting yourself in debt.  I find no better reason to go into debt than fashion.  If I do not look good, how will I ever be able to marry rich and be a lady of leisure?

6) Tax day actually means something to you.

7) You abandoned the discreet “back massager” for the kind that has to come in discreet packaging.  

Enough said.

8) You dislike getting older.  

Remember when you use to count half years? Remember when you used to have a fake ID because you couldn’t wait to be 21?  Now you just celebrate birthdays over again.  I know several ladies, not naming names, that have celebrated an early 20s birthday several times over.  For me after this one I will continue to celebrate 25 for the next 5 years.  Besides, doesn’t everyone know that you should never ask a lady about her age.

9) You save your own money to buy a piece of Furniture.  

My red couch is lovely, even if it is from Ikea.  After a year of saving I bought it all by myself, and I could not be prouder.  My apartment looks so much more put together.  Yep, like real adults live there.  So, new, never-been-owned-by-anyone-else, purchased-by-you furniture is a sign that you care about your place, and caring means you are a true grown up.  

10) You glance for a ring.

When you encounter an attractive member of the opposite sex, you do a ring check.  Is that certain finger on their left hand bare?  Free ring finger means free reign to flirt.  Flirting with a married man is tacky and brings on some bad karma.  I want my future husband to be faithful, and other people to be respectful of our relationship.  I must confess that there was one time in my life that I blatantly flirted with a married man.  I was 10 Red Bull-vodkas in, and he looked JUST LIKE Jude Law!  Nothing came of it, of course, but I know I have some bad juju coming my way for that one.  

Different people take growing up in different ways.  Some people do it with grace, and some people refuse to grow up at all.  Moral of the story, whether we like it or not, we eventually start doing things that only adults do.  For you it may not be the things on this list, but I bet if you thought about it you have a few of your own.