Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Will I Ever Feel Like a Grownup?

One definition of "grownup" says: a fully developed person from maturity onward. If that's so, and I'm thirty years old... then why do I still wake up from time to time and pray my mom or dad will be there in my kitchen fixing breakfast and helping me solve the problems I'm about to face in the world that day?
I've noticed a pattern to the feeling... of course more often than not, this feeling is brought on by a major change, stress or sometimes just waking up in an unfamiliar place...
Take this morning for example. I woke up in Hollywood, Florida in a company furnished apartment that I will call home for the next month and a half... This should be a relatively normal feeling, as I am a performer and somewhat of a gypsy. I have been on many tours in the United States and Europe and I have worked in cities across the U. S. for extended periods of time living in temporary housing... Nevertheless, the oddity of waking up in your empty, lifeless, and personality-free "fake" home just plain sucks.
I'm excited to be here in Florida, and I look forward to the work I get to do here... But this morning, as I sat in bed thinking about my life and all of the experiences I've had so far, I just couldn't make sense of how sad I felt, that a large part of my time has been spent away from those people I love.
It strange really, because while I lived at home I couldn't wait to get out... (Not because I didn't love my parents, but instead, because I wanted to start my own life...) Now, a grownup... I have to make decisions for myself. I have to take care of myself, and the biggest fear of all- I have to be responsible for myself!
I'm not sure this thought has much of an ending, other than the fact that when I woke up this morning and I relived the past 12 years of my life while in and out of sleep... I was so grateful for my parents love and support throughout my adult life...
Though they have not been with me physically along the journey, somehow, they are always ready to answer my phone calls... no matter where I'm calling from or time of day or night!
...and sometimes I think it's okay for a grownup to admit that he still needs his parents.

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