You'll never believe what happened to me on the way to the cleaners...

I grew up.

Well, not exactly. I did become an adult, though, constantly perplexed by the grownup behavior that surrounds me.

For example, I ended up in a billiards lounge this week, surrounded by co-workers out on day-leave for a pre-christmas celebration. And I found myself looking around the room thinking: 'Soooooooo..... THIS is what grownups do.' After having spent so much time around playgrounds lately, I felt at odds being somewhere without young children. On the contrary, this somewhere was filled with OLDER children yielding pool cues and beer bottles.

And so I played. Although at first humbled by a continuous missing streak, I found my pool game actually improving once my lunch wine wore off, to the point where I WAS GOOD!!!!

I also had to get over the issue of sticking my butt out in public (to take a pool shot), which goes against everything my mother taught me.

In the end, like the true hobbit I am, I slowly moved from observing this grownup adventure to actually participating, enjoying myself, and wanting more. Well, maybe not.

Regarding the Grownup Thing (as compared to the Adult Thing, which we are no matter how hard we fight it): I waste far too much time feeling that I should be acting more like one. Instead, I should appreciate how lucky I am to be on the other side of grownuphood. Because, when you really think of it, grownuphood is simply a club whose membership is made up of People Who Take Themselves Too Seriously.

So, hurray to parenthood, to being a child at heart, to laughing at yourself.

Some day I may even make it to the cleaners.