Friday Firsts: First Time Feeling Grown Up

(Read about Red’s first over at The Naked Redhead.)

Most days, I feel like a child who has been wrongfully cast for the “Adult Woman” character in a play I know nothing about. I question myself and seek approval for my actions. Often times I get thrown off kilter when I’m hit with the reality that HolyShitI’mMarriedWithASon. I don’t know if this week’s “first” really applies, but I’ll give it my best shot.

One sunny weekend, during my junior year of high school, I took a road trip to the lovely state of Connecticut to visit some trumpet player from some ska band I had recently met. I had never driven out of state on my own by that point, and I was really, really nervous. I didn’t know how highways “worked,” and got very confused when I came to an exit for “Middletown” just an hour into my three-hour trip. After figuring out that–Hey! Maybe there’s a Middletown in, uhm, where am I? Oh yeah! New York, too–I made it to my destination unscathed.

The “feeling grown up” part of the story happened on the drive home. It was a beautiful, warm day. The sky was clear and I had *finally* figured out how to use the cruise control on my car. I had the windows down, the music turned way up, and the sunroof open, and I finally felt in charge of myself, of my car, and of the highway.

How about you? When did that “grown up” feeling hit?

Want more? Check out the Crossover Blog archive!