I’ve been wondering when it was that I became an adult…

Was it when I became overjoyed at our purchase of a Whirlpool dryer, endorsed with the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval? Or was it before that, when I learned how to manage employees while Supervisor of Guest Services at Covenant Seminary? Was it the moment I said “I do” on the cranberry steps of the Worship Hall at Zion Church? Or was it when I almost defaulted on a student loan after transferring to Covenant College… and had to call the loan people myself and clear up the whole mess?

After reading Lindsay’s blog entry (on not fitting in with the men and their hunting conversations or the women and their kitchen talk) I realized that this trek into adulthood is very subtle. It kind of sneaks up on you really! Yes, there have been moments where I’d rather talk with the guys about the inconsistencies between The Lord of the Rings books and movies, rather than chat about more girly topics with my good friends. But overall I’m kind of surprised by my ability to carry on long conversations with other married women about kitchen utensils and new recipes, garden tools and landscape ideas, child-rearing techniques and methods of diapering. To be fair, the mundanity of daily life is not all we talk about; in no way does it define adulthood. But it is a part of it.

I think I became an adult when I learned to get along with people who are very different from myself. High school was all about hanging out (and competing with) peers of similar interests. College and “the real world” were training of a different sort and I quickly learned that friends don’t have to think or behave exactly like me. In fact, if I had waited to find friendship by similarities, I’d be a very lonely person. Every different person that has stepped into my world has influenced me in some way or another, and expanded my thinking accordingly. They’ve pulled, stretched and challenged me into adulthood… and it’s been a good ride thus far.