“All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, ‘Oh, why can’t you remain like this for ever!’ This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.”
— J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)
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This week’s Query is about being an adult…or not being an adult… Well, it’s hard to tell.
Click the link below to see how people answered this question:
How do you know when you’re an Adult?
Like all the other Queries, this is pretty much up for debate and interpretation.
Is it responsibility for a human other than yourself? Or is being responsible for yourself enough to tip the scales from childhood to adulthood? And does that mean responsibility for yourself financially or emotionally or physically, or all of the above? Is it putting the non-essential pursuits on the back burner, the ones that don’t put food on the table, clothes on your back and a roof over your head? The answers are a little different for everyone. And I have to wonder, is there even such a thing as grown up?
Of course, there are people who seemed to have been born as adults. Maybe that’s just my perception because they’re a bit more serious, or more driven or ambitious than I am. On the other hand, there are people who never seem to grow up at all. Again it’s perception: daring or reckless? care-free or irresponsible? fun-loving or immature? It depends on what side of the Or Fence you’re on, doesn’t it?
The thing is, I still like to carve pumpkins, and I get excited at the thought of Halloween candy. And Christmas presents, both the giving and the receiving. And puppies…swinging on a swing…and going down a slide if the occasion calls for it. Okay, even if the occasion doesn’t call for it.
Oh, and Pixar movies, Harry Potter, fireflies, ice cream cones, Scooby Doo…
I think some things are just who we are, and not about whether we’re an adult or a child.
Peter Pan was a kid through and through. Wendy went all the way to Neverland, and naturally took on the role of mother. You just are who you are.
Who are you?
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steadily skipping stones 