Grown Up Jobs

Here's the thing - I don't consider myself a grown-up. Well, I do in that I allow myself to eat ice cream for dinner (as long as nobody's watching), and I enjoy an adult beverage occasionally, but I'm still trying to figure out what I want to BE when I grow up.

I had a conversation along these lines with a friend a couple of weeks ago. When do we become "grown-ups"? It occurs to me, that a lot of people (myself included) define themselves in big part by what they do.

Now, I have a real job with real responsibilities and they pay me money and everything. However, I don't have a real job title - you know the ones that meant something when we were kids. I am a General Manager - yeah, so? I was a "manager" right out of high school. Don't get me wrong - on most days I like my job, but it doesn't sound like a grown-up job. People I know have grown-up sounding jobs. My high school boyfriend is an author - published several books, even works on documentaries - now that's a grown-up job. Another woman I went to high school with is a Professor of Archeology - another grown-up job.

My two oldest and dearest friends are both not-so-stay-at-home moms. I admire them more than I can say - and when I hear about the involvement they get to have with their children, I turn green. They both do work with their children's schools - they do fund-raising - they get to be so much more a part of their children's lives than I ever will. They probably have the toughest and most grown-up jobs there are - but I can't do it.

My family is dependent on my salary. T works (in fact - just got back on full-time, yeah) but it's my salary that pays the mortgage, the bills, and puts groceries on the table. So, I guess that's pretty grown-up, too, but not in a good - ice cream for dinner - make old friends jealous of how far you've come - kind of way.