All Grown Up?

It has recently become evident to me that I have forgotten what it means to be a grown up. I attended a meeting last night, a grown up meeting, which in and of itself is a treat. But this was a new member meeting for Junior Auxiliary (for those of you not in the know, think Junior League for small towns). I have been around this organization for years because my mom was a member, so I should have known better. But, somehow I thought is was appropriate to go to this meeting in a cotton shirt, knee length shorts, and flip flops. Granted, it is what I had on all day long, but I should have known better. When I walked into the room, every other woman had on a dress or slacks with heels. Ahhhh! And it's not that I was the only parent or the only parent of small kids so I had no excuse.




So it got me thinking…what other normal adult behaviors have I acquiesced since becoming a mom. The list was a bit astounding.



First of all, the only things I have to talk about are my kids (as my friends without kids love to point out!). Granted, I work from home so I don't get a lot of daily interaction with other humans so I don't get any 'funny work stories' to pass around the table, but still, you'd think a reasonably intelligent 30 year old woman could come up with something else to talk about than the fact that my kid got peed on at school yesterday (yes – it was a rather traumatic moment for Braden).



I've touched briefly on the clothes, but I haven't let you in on the worst of it. Granted, shorts and tank tops are perfectly acceptable dress code for my daily life since I work from home, but practically all of my clothes are stained with some sort of baby milk, throw up, etc by the end of the day. By the time I go out in public I've forgotten they are there so I often go out in public looking like a hot mess! (Not to mention the shower, shave, makeup, and hair routine has been reduced to about 5 minutes these days)



Now, for those of you who knew me in my college days, you know that I frequented a bar or club once or twice. And don't get me wrong, I in no way miss that life, but these days I would rather go to bed and get an extra hour of sleep that drink a beer or go dancing. I guess I still do get to dance, but it is with Amelia and Braden in our living room and to silly songs about trees and nuts, not songs about gangstas and hoes.



And forget going to dinner at a restaurant. Now, we still go sometimes, but by the end of it all I'm normally so exhausted that it probably would have been a better idea just to stay at home and cook. Between keeping the baby busy, and trying to pick up whatever it is that she's thrown on the floor and keeping Braden from climbing over the back of the booth to visit the folks next to us, it is constant chaos. And my kids are not bad kids, they're just kids and kids are meant to run and be loud, not sit in restaurants.



So, am I really all grown up, who knows, but is it worth losing a little bit of my old self to get to snuggle up with my babies every single night? Absolutely! I'll put my big girl clothes on and drink to that =)