Universality of Childhood

I’m happy to report that my manifesto is circulating its way through the blogosphere. Pretty cool to see that this whole “Escape Adulthood” thing is striking a nerve. My favorite mention comes from blogger Maria Sariego, who writes:

I found out Sunday that I have advanced adultitis…

Oh yeah … and then there’s taking the car to inspection … and getting the fireplace flu and dryer vents cleaned (which we now have to do by Oct., per the new neighborhood association rules) … and filling out the U.S. American Community Census Survey (for which I was lucky enough to be picked at random, but am required by law to fill out) … or the yearly mammogram … or the twice-a-year dentist visit (which I thought was only going to be for a cleaning, but now also needs to deal with the tooth I chipped last week) … or the big annual FAFSA extravaganza ( … if you don’t have college-age children, you don’t know what you’re missing there) … or making sure to renew the dogs’ town licenses every year (which of course requires vet visits to keep the shots up to date) … and so on, and so on. I mean, have you noticed how much life-administration stuff one has to deal with as an adult? Was this all spelled out in the fine print somewhere in our ‘Welcome to Adulthood’ manual?

And that, my friends, is what I’m talkin’ about. And it’s why I’m consistently trying to chip away at the stuff that conspires to keeps me squarely in ‘adult’ mode so much of the time ( … why does this suddenly brings up images of a guy trying to bail out a sinking boat with a little tin cup, I ask you?)

Really, being an ‘adult’ all these years has served me well in many ways, but Sunday when I read about adultitis in Jason’s little manifesto I felt like one of those people whose ‘affliction’ is finally given a name. It doesn’t change things and it doesn’t make it curable, necessarily, but now at least they know they’re not just going crazy. If it has a name then there’s at least ONE other soul out there suffering with you. Anyone?

Make it a point to read Maria’s full post. She shares some really fun anecdotes from her own childhood, including details from her transition from Spain to America when she was eight years old.  It’s a fascinating reminder to me that even though everyone in this world has had such diverse childhood experiences, there are certain things that are absolutely universal. Thanks Maria, for the mention. And for sharing.