Saturday, April 14, 2012

Ways I Am Not A Grown-Up, The Second In Potentially Infinite Series

Though I am 43 1/2*, I still have entirely too much difficulty differentiating between a run-of-the-mill bad mood and an existential crisis. In my unrelenting inability to distinguish between garden variety crankiness and a full-on mental health episode requiring medical attention, it seems I am doomed to be 15 forever.


*For our next installment, we will be covering my ongoing insistence on still occasionally adding the "half" even though I have been told by a New York State Trooper that, "Once you turn ten, you're not supposed to count the half."

21 comments:

  1. I've stopped counting the half. And please let me know when you find out how to find out the difference..

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    1. Something tells me you'll have it figured out long before I do, Larissa, even with my considerable chronological headstart. :)

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  2. Oh hell! Me too - must explain why I am still in middle school.

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  3. I'm curious, do you mean your own run of the mill bad mood vs existential crisis? Or recognizing someone else's? I seem to think everyone's - my own included - are existential crisis! (That would make me what... Five? ;) )

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    1. Totally both. In this particular instance it was my own, but my own was inpsired by someone else's, if that makes any sense.

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    2. It does. I'm pretty good with other people's. The less info I have, the less accurate my "guess."

      IMO, if it feels like it might be an existential crisis, I say treat it like one.

      In an ideal situation, you could say what you need and people would listen and support that. For times when that fails, go the extra steps to get what you need. Hoist up the drawbridge, come down with a sudden fake fever or menstrual cramps or whatever it takes to get your space. Order taekout. Crash at a friend's or a hotel room if needed (you don't have to tell people that's where you're going. You could be "working" or "helping a friend with their emergency issue" - not yours!)

      Hope you're feeling a bit better today.

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  4. And this is why I love my therapist.

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    1. If I could just find a therapist to love...I'd be one step closer to being a full-fledged grown-up.

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  5. Uh...there is no difference...is there?

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    1. It sure as heck doesn't seem like it most days.

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  6. I feel that if I make the announcement that I am feeling cranky, it should be understood by the family that it could take a nose dive into crisis at any moment! They don't think so. I think they are thinking, 'that's nothing new!'

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    1. That was very much me yesterday--and my attempts to hide out were interfered with at every turn by people who should really know better at this point.

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  7. My siblings and I had a conversation once about why people say their children's ages in months after the first year. We all sat and figured out our ages and determined we would start telling people our age that way. I'm 547 months.

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    1. Lol! that's awesome. I'm sure you don't look a day over 546 :)

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    2. I think I might be too old to do the math on this one. :)

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  8. Ah no, it's AFTER you turn ten that you START counting the half. Silly officer...

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    1. Oh, he was definitely silly. I'll save that story for next time.

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  9. Sounds familiar... existential crisis does have a nice ring to it, though.

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  10. I have a hard time telling the difference, too. Sometimes I'll stop and think "Wow, is it normal to be cranky for six months straight?" Perhaps not.

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