A
lady never reveals her age, so I'll only tell you I'm a fraction north of
30.
So
far my fourth decade on earth has been pretty darn great. I've begun graduate
school, basked in the unbridled spaces of the Grand Canyon, and I finally have
enough bookshelves to hold alllllll of my books <happy dance>. And
I still have lots to do.
Many
folks, including a goodly number of my friends and family, around my age find
ourselves getting married, buying homes, starting families and such, embarking
on what we know to be a typical version of adulthood. It’s when adulthood
becomes parenthood that I’m particularly
concerned with here.
When
adulthood turns into the day-to-day activities involving the upkeep of tiny
humans who care not one iota whether you’ve finished lunch, are indisposed or
even if you’re asleep, that’s when it gets dicey. Could
it have been that long ago that you hopped over to Main Street Tavern for
drinks after work, caught the midnight premier of a movie and then headed home
to pack for a three-day out-of-town conference?
Only when a friend calls to
invite you out for a last-minute dinner and you say, “No thanks, hon. Junior
just threw up on the couch, the dog’s trying to eat said barf, and I haven’t
showered in close to 48 hours,” that you realize you now live in an alternate
universe where a “vacation” is that magical time you can actually go to the
bathroom uninterrupted.
As
for me, I think having tiny humans will be a grand adventure…but that doesn’t
mean I’m ready rightthissecond to break out the panel pants. Until then, I’m
making my way through my unofficial Cradle List—the things I want to accomplish
before watching my bellybutton turn into an outie.
So
here goes. My Cradle List (as of today):
- Visit three national parks. Two down, so far! (Big Bend, 2010, and Grand Canyon, 2012)
- Finish grad school (or at least walk across the graduation stage a few hours before going into labor—they make those master’s robes roomy enough…)
- Get a piece published in The Dallas Morning News.
- Write the first five chapters of a novel set in England. (It also would not hurt to do the actual writing in England…I’m just saying.)
- Acquire a new automobile for more traveling. (On this point I have mixed emotions, as my current car, a 14-year-old Jeep, is totally freaking awesome and in fair working order. It would be nice to have a new Jeep, though. You can put a car seat in a two-door Jeep, right? Totally.)
- Touch the Pacific Ocean.
- Buy some outrageously expensive tequila and drink it whenever the hell I like.
- Buy a house. With a real mailbox. One to which I can mail myself kick-ass postcards from all over.
Please feel free to suggest more!
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