it's a natural byproduct of the aging process to find things easier to do as you practice them. as i practice memorizing the elements of crimes, torts, and various other minutiae, i naturally find this easier. this applies to not only intellectual pursuits, but practical life things as well. i mean, it now takes me about 10 minutes to do my tax return, but i've been filing taxes for over 10 years now. making a car rental reservation, getting utilities hooked up, registering for classes - you name it, i can do it. i've got this adulthood thing all nailed down.
so it's kinda shocking to me when i look around at grown people and they just. can't. do it. i've been up to my eyebrows in people who are chronologically adult, but who simply can't handle the basic tasks of adult life, WAY too much for my own personal sanity these days. it really makes me wonder how the black hell these folks got this far in life without knowing how to do things. i shouldn't get phone calls from people twice my age asking how to handle basic machinations that are just a part of adult life. somehow, some way, something should've stuck with them, and it didn't. that scares me.
so here's to all the people in my life who made sure that when i left the nest, i had the toolbox i needed to, if not do things i needed to do right away, at least know how to find out what to do. thanks to y'all, i've been spared the rather sad and pathetic fate of being grown and having everything be a nightmare. i can get through arduous and annoying tasks without my walls crashing down. not everyone can do this. i am reminded of that far too often for my taste. and i am grateful as hell that i will never be that person.
Hello world!
8 months ago
I'm totally with you. From the time I was very young Mim had me making phone calls, setting up appointments, teaching me how to balance a checkbook, how to do housework properly, plan events, do taxes...pretty much everything. And I remember one time I was in a class in high school, like a beginning cooking class or something, and I remember there was this one kid who didn't know how to wash dishes. Not even kidding.
ReplyDeleteThe one that bothers me the most, though, is budgeting. People who don't know how to budget, even though they desperately need it, bug the hell out of me.
Here here. My mother did an excellent job of preparing me for what it would be like to be an adult. As far as the people who can't...you basically just described my ex stepfather. 43 years old and couldn't even call to make his own doctor's appointment or check a bank balance. There's a reason he's an "ex".
ReplyDeleteIt's scary that there are that many people out there like you describe. It's a wonder anything gets done in this world sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI don't always do the responsible adult thing (for example, I am perpetually putting off a dentist appointment) but lack of common sense on how to do adult things annoys the hell out of me. Like my friend was complaining that he moved to a new apartment and it would be awhile before TimeWarner could come over and set up cable/internet. It's like, you have moved multiple times, how have you not learned that you must call in advance to get these things done.
ReplyDeleteMost of this is petty annoyances, but I really don't get it. I guess people just don't think things through?
Unfortunately, I learned in an Intro Marketing class that most advertising is geared towards people with a 3rd grade education... I didn't believe it at the time... I certainly do now...
ReplyDelete~shoes~