Watermelons and Birthdays

With the morning temperatures in the 40's, I guess it's safe to say that summer has ended. And so, it was time to eat the last of the summer watermelon.



Now, before you notice that this guy isn't fully ripe, let me say that I grew this. From a plant that was all but dead most of the summer. From a plant that didn't get around to actually growing until August, when all the other little watermelons of the world had long been eaten. So I am suitably proud and the melon was suitably sweet!

Today is my sister Christina's birthday. After my remarkably off-key rendition of the tradition song, we got to talking about how Mom died shortly after she turned this same age. This led to a discussion of how kids think their parents are so grown up and know everything. Well, we did before we became know-it-all teenagers! To think that *we* are now the same age as our parents were, is, to say the least, freaky. (Note: I'm still younger than Christina)

The discussion turned to signs that we are, in fact, at least as "mature" as Mom and Dad were. Having children and managing to keep them alive, making and spending money, usually having food in the house, and for Christina, the ultimate proof...never running out of toilet paper! Now, of all the indicators of success as an adult, this one takes the cake! Toilet paper...*giggle, snort*

But, maintaining the household TP supply is one of those mundane yet essential tasks that signify that you are grown up. Like doing your laundry instead of buying new when you need clean underpants. And eating leftovers to avoid waste (and dang! you worked hard to make the stuff in the first place!)

However, nowhere in the Grown Up Manifesto does it say you can't have fun while being an adult. So, build TP forts, put marshmallows in your cocoa, and dress your dog up in stupid, I mean stylish, outfits. Ride on the back of the shopping cart down the store aisles (done that), hide in the middle of a clothes display and yell "Pick Me! Pick Me!" to the people passing by (not yet), and make funny hairdos in the shower with the shampoo (you bet!)

Because, as I like to say (to myself in the mirror), "Growing old is inevitable, maturity is optional!"