Monday, August 8, 2011

Turning 29 and How to Not Fear 30

So I turn 29 tomorrow. Yippee. Truth be told, 28 can go right to Hell. I had an unbelievable amount of stress during my 28th year on Earth, some of which you know of, some I won't get into, so I'm more happy than usual to see my birthday approach.

I mean, who doesn't like their birthday? People who dislike presents, that's who. Also communists.

Now, that's not to say I'm particularly thrilled about turning 29. My wife won't be celebrating with me as she's over 5 hours away on a business trip (we celebrated a couple of days ago, but of course it's not the same as having fun on the actual day). I'll be working on my birthday (I know, cry me a river, almost everyone has to). And last but not least, I'll be one year closer to 30, and even further into the supposed threshold of adulthood.

But I'm not worried about 30. Heck, 30 should be worried about me.

You see, someone wise once said -- or wrote in a webcomic, I forget -- that now that we're the adults, we get to decide what adulthood means... and for me, maybe adulthood means not taking adulthood so seriously.

C.S. Lewis once said "When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up," and you know what, he's right. We want to be grownups when we're kids, until we find out what that means. And true, being an adult means several things: paying your bills; taking responsibility for yourself, your actions, and those who depend on you; getting a job that allows you to support yourself at least a little; etc.

But adulthood doesn't have to be all work and no play. Heck, it doesn't even have to be boring. If there's something from your childhood you still enjoy -- be it cartoons, comic books, board games, whatever -- I say keep enjoying it. You're an adult. YOU can decide if you're too old to do this or that (within reason... I'm pretty sure adulthood means no longer sucking your thumb or wearing diapers... unless you're pretty far into adulthood, that is).

Sometimes people have told me I'm childish or even called me a "man-child" for enjoying comics and video games. Heck, Kathie Lee Gifford says I should stop playing video games by this time next year or I'm a freak. And you know what?

I don't care. Because I'm an adult and above name calling. You doodie head.

So 30 doesn't bother me. It's a number that will soon define how many years I've been providing a daily supply of AWESOME to the world.

May there be many more.

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