Time is an interesting thing. When we’re young we can’t wait to grow up. A comedian once joked that “children are so eager to get older they count their age in fractions”. And it’s true. Ask a 6-year old how old they are and they’ll tell you “6 and a half”.
When we enter high school and want to feel “adult” we try to validate our relationships with time. Things that sound silly to us now as adults came out of our mouths at age 16: “Mike and I have been going out for 3 months” to which our girl friends would reply “ohhh, you guys must be serious.”
Sometime around 25, I think, we want time to start slowing down. We realize how fast we blew though our irresponsible years and now the full force of adulthood is looming- mortgages, car payment, student loans, etc. Then the cliched "anniversaries" of our 29th birthday start...
It’s curious to me how pregnant women revert back to time being measured in increments. Ask Lindsay how far along she is and she’ll tell you exactly: as stated in her blog, on Monday she was 27 weeks and 5 days. Pregnant women count in fractions, just like grade-schoolers. Even if my answer to how far along I am is “11 weeks” I know in my head that I'm 11 weeks and 4 days. WEIRD. Cute, I guess.
I wonder if Lindsay (and me, and others) will start counting in negatives nearer to the end. The answer to how far along will be: “only 36 days left”.
About Me
- Karen
- Cincinnati native trying to juggle two kids, a successful marriage, a full time project management job and a part time teaching gig. Fortunately I love every component of my crazy life!
My Blog List
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Willie, mio gatto bello8 years ago
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Peeing on Trees and Other Nonsense11 years ago
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Chord Buddy12 years ago
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We Moved!!!12 years ago
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15 comments:
84 days left!!!
very interesting blog and very true :-)
This is so totally true. You do start to count down... or you'll say... I'm 38 weeks with X # of days to go! :-) You still measure in increments after your little one is born (even though most people only want to know how old in months)... Take Alex. He's 19 weeks (and 5 days)... Friday he's 20(!) weeks! Then I start to think... hey, tomorrow is the day I found out last year I was prego and Ashley went into the hospital to have Xavier!!!!
Every day you begin to wish for time to slow down so you can enjoy your little one just a little longer! But, I'm sure they are thinking "I wish I was bigger so I can..." or "Man, I can't wait til I..."
That is very interesting. I'm torn between time slowing down and enjoying as you put it my "irresponsible" years (even though I don't get to enjoy them nearly as much as ANY other 21 year old!) or do I want to go speed up so I can get out of this rut i'm in and be more stable? This year has flown by... I've wished it away always wishing for the next paycheck... or next week when I do this or that. Crazy how life flies by!
Probably it's all relative - kids are so young that they count in small increments. When you're pregnant, it only lasts 9 months so you break it down a little more. When you're 50, you've been around a while so you figure you don't need to do that?
Many of my friends who have had babies did the whole "count down" thing once they got close. My friend Amy is in the "days" phase. She's DYING to have her baby. But she's chanting it to keep her sane, "Only 7 days to go...only 7 days to go..."
I wonder how many moms were rushed to get the pregnancy over with, like my friend Amy, who then later said, "I wish I was still pregnant!" because of how fast they grow up. I think Sarah W has said that once or twice in her blog. That she misses being pregnant. I can imagine that I will feel that way, impatient to see what we made but at the same time, sad that the "link" is broken from pregnancy. Okay, enough deep pondering.
I think I have to write my own blog in response to your blog!
Why does everyone have kids?? I'm gonna start counting the opposite way: "how many days till I gotta seriously start thinking about a kid in my life..." To guys its more of a negative thing... maybe cause it's scary of the thought. I want kids and all but I count how much time left (sounds like I'm counting down the days till I die) till I got this to deal with...
Go ahead ladies, bash away! You may think we are excited but they are scared shitless... :)
greg, i think for someone who's (almost) 22, your countdown to no freedom is validated. live it up as long as possible! i'm officially "responsible" for the rest of my life now.
I agree with Karen about Greg! Live it up!
Yes, I did say quite a few times that I wish I was still prego and am SERIOUSLY looking forward to being prego again (no, not yet)...
I agree with Karen. If I had told Kendall when he was 22 that I wanted a kid, he would have started checking the condoms for small holes...LOL!
At 28, he wants a kid as much as I do. He loves holding babies. Then again, he does treat them an awful lot like he does our dogs....which could lead to a whole other blog, "Kids and Babies: What's the difference?"
I'm with Greg right now....still 4 more years til I have to be responsible.... hehe
I agree w/ Greg too.. glad I have a wife to take care of this whole kid thing. Tell me when he's 4 years old and can play ball with him.
Jeeze Jim. You're so good with little Alex that I wouldn't believe that you want them to grow up fast. :-) He did enjoy his dancing session with you at the concert! ;-D
Jim's a faker. He's trying to side with the guys, but secretly, we all know he'll do whatever daddies do, cause just like the Johnson's commercial says, "A Baby Changes Everything..." Hehe
Oh so true Lisa!
Karen, I think you should make a deal with Jim - if you're the one who has to mostly worry about the grape early on, he should have to teach him/her to drive. :-)
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