I realised recently that I’ve:
- lived in our current house for five years, which is longer than I’ve lived anywhere since I left my parents’ house (previous record: two years and two months in a shared flat in Glasgow during my PhD);
- been in my current job for almost four years, which is longer than I’ve had any other job (previous record: three years and four months as a postdoc in a different department in the same building);
- been with Mr E Man for over eight years, which is longer than any of my other romantic relationships (previous record: two and a half years, but that was an outlier).
Am I… a grownup, now, then?
Huh.
yep you’re officially a grown up!
Hmmmm… I’m afraid you might be.
The pleasures of stability should not be underestimated (I’m enjoying it myself).
I’m moving in with my bf in a few days and going to my first ever scientific conference in a few months! So I feel very grown-up :). Now if only there was a way to convince my parents…
I have yet to live in a house/apartment for that long, but I still beat your job record (keep it up just a little bit longer and you’ll pass me, though).
You are a grownup if and ONLY if you have a bradawl and know how to use it AND/OR you buy T-shirts with nothing printed on them.
I think, whatever the defining property/properties – and apart from stable relationship/job/house, there are the other obvious ones like having kids, or losing one’s parents – you are only a grownup if you WANT to be one.
Personally I’ve decided not to.
You know you’re a grown-up when the band you’re playing in starts attracting groupies but you’d really rather have a nice cup of tea and a lie down.
you know you’re a grownup when you finally know whether this bus goes to the station
🙂
Not until your grandchildren start university degrees Cath. Only then are you truly grown up …
I love the title of this post. Is it common in commonwealth countries? (although EGM has never heard it).
I also LOVE being a grown up. I decided I was one when I finished undergrad. Freedom to make your own decisions is the best!
Grateful I live in a place where I can say that. 🙂
Do you feel the heavy weight of responsibility on your shoulders all the time? If not, then – no. Not a grownup.
ScientistMother: I suspected as much!
Bean-Mom, oh, yeah, I’m not knocking it. It’s delightful!
SB, congrats on the moving in together!
Yeah, my parents still think I’m 15.
Steffi, I really, really don’t miss moving apartments every couple of years, and countries every three or four years!
CromerCrox, I don’t even know what a bradawl is, but I’m sure Mr E Man has at least one and knows how to use it. I’ve been buying t-shirts with nothing printed on them for years, though!
Austin, good for you! Growing old is compulsory but growing up is optional, right?
Nina, in that case I will never be a grownup! Yay!
Eco, when you turn 100 in the UK you’re supposed to get a telegram from the monarch, but I don’t know anyone who’s made it to 100 so I can’t verify that! I’ve never heard anyone mention it in Canada though, so I don’t think it’s Commonwealth-wide.
Yes, there’s definitely a huge upside to being a grownup, and being able to do what you want (and eat cheese just before bed and as many cookies as you want) is definitely a large part of that!
SilverFox, ugh, that sounds horrible! I only feel that weight for a few days at a time, usually, so yay! Not a grownup!
For the longest time I’ve been trying to convince my boyfriend that we should have a beer/cheese fridge in place of a bedside table when we start living together… so far he has been unconvinced, but perhaps he’ll be swayed if I mention that Dr. Cath thinks it is perfectly acceptable to have cheese just before bed 🙂
Being a grown-up is AWESOME!!
Mr E Man will definitely have several bradawl and use them every day at work. Ask him.
I did. He does. So he’s a grownup too!
Ummm, great minds, or fools?
Either way, there’s clearly something in the air. And even though I have a 15 month old nipper, I still suffer from adulthood impostor syndrome every so often.
ah yes, I know it well…
I wonder how many truly self-confident proper grownups there actually are in the world? My guess is 23.
Uhh, don’t you mean a “Congratulatory e-mail from the Governor General?”
No. Queen or GTFO.
I’m trying to become grown down.
Bob – every time I see or hear another one of your jokes, it makes me want to complain, then chunder a little.
Groan up.
Did you really mean to bring that up?
congrats! 🙂 Fun to stay in the same house I think?! I’m still to live somewhere [i.e. apt/house] longer than 2 years, which is my record at the moment….
As for grown up – I figured I am since last Saturday while celebrating Swedish Midsummer we closed down the celebrations after 9 pm, and almost no alcohol due to everyone longing for sleepy time 😉 old….
Gah! My longest job was my PhD, which was about a *million* years. (Six years and three months, to be precise). A MILLION!
Oh, and longest time in same place by myself was seven years. Most of aforementioned PhD, plus a year after that. Fun fact: I got Penny within two weeks after moving into that apartment, so she also lived in the same house for seven years. My cat totally beat your house record!
Wow, outdone by a cat.
I bet she can’t hold down a job, though.