I Feel Like a Woman

Me, As an Adult
In my 20s I compiled a list of things adult “women” did that I wasn’t doing, according mostly to Sex and the City (which was big at the time) and all the heroes from my favorite romantic comedies. This is about when I coined my personal mantra: What Would Meg Ryan Do?

I thought if I mastered these skills or habits, I’d feel more grown up. Because even with a full-time job and a steady boyfriend, I still felt like a teenager. Maybe it was my Hello Kitty purse.

Here’s my list of the habits of Adult Women:
  • Drink coffee
  • Wear makeup (not just chapstick)
  • Wear matching PJ sets or nightgowns or lingerie
  • Own several pairs of high-heeled shoes
  • Own bras and panties in matching sets (and wear them together)
  • Hang pantyhose to dry in shower (this is now obsolete, but made the list a decade ago)
  • Gab on phone with best friend/sister/mother.
  • Usually own small pet (mini dog or haughty cat)
  • Have raging handbag fetish and will spend small fortunes on them
  • Drink wine or pastel-colored drinks called cosmos/martinis/juleps
  • Have dinner parties on well-set tables (the miracle of set designers)
Looking back on this list now, I'm not surprised how few of these items I've acquired or mastered. The makeup and caffeine are two points that are in progress. Some I just find harrowing – high heels? No thank you! Matching underwear? Too much effort and money. Small pet? I have kids, does that count?

But now, I look at the list and wonder why it even matters. I'm 37 and what I'm doing IS what adult women do. At least, what this adult women does and comparing myself to the ladies in pop culture is really not doing me any favors.

So, take that Meg, Carrie and all those other rom com heroines. I'm totally adulting just right.


Related links:
More Deep Thoughts posts

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The $80 Kitchen Pantry Update

Image
It took two days and about $80 in supplies, and now our kitchen pantry is REBORN! Here's a quick review of the project in pictures, starting with the BEFORE pictures: My main issue with the wire shelves were bottles or anything "thin" would tip over. And with my commitment to bulk, I wanted to store glass containers in here but knew they wouldn't be "safe." I foresaw broken glass at some point. Plus, it's a great space, so I knew I could add more storage space if I was strategic. Last, wire shelves are ugly. So then I demo'd the pantry and painted the walls (which was just primer) with leftover paint from the rest of the house. It's called Polar Bear. I paid an electrician to install an outlet at "counter height" in the pantry, so I could move the dumb microwave off the counter. (The electrician did a slew of other small jobs around the house, not just this outlet, including a motion-activated light in this pantry. Tres Fancy
Keep reading »

Family Calendar Improvement

Image
 Made a quick improvement at the start of the school year that I'm pretty excited about.  And yes, I'm probably the only one excited about it, but here goes ...  Here's our "command central" in our kitchen. This is a good landing spot, and a central place to all look at the family calendar ... it's that huge wipe board in the middle of the photo. All our activities are supposed to be written on here and our electronic family calendar on Google.  (Brief aside: my family is the WORST at writing their plans down in either calendar and Dave still doesn't share his events on our Google Shared Family Calendar consistently, which makes me nuts. And they all ask me "what are we doing today?" instead of looking at the calendar, usually directly behind me. But, that's another post.) I went to so much trouble putting this little area together and that huge calendar with wobbly writing was really killing the sophisticated look of that space. PLUS, we don
Keep reading »

Basement Shiplap Project

Image
The guys left me all the unused shiplap from the bathroom and I've been trying to think about where to use it. I had so many ideas but not a lot of shiplap, so I eventually settled on this corner of our basement. It's where the exercise mats and treadmill live, right behind the sofa. And also where the Marvel-themed bathroom with shiplap is located. So it made sense. It took much of a rainy Sunday to cut and nail up the new boards ...    I even had enough to do on the "backsplash" of our little kitchenette in the basement I've been slowly building out.  Next up will be to patch all the nail holes and calk around the edges for a clean look. And then the best part ... picking out paint color. Since this is a "free" project, I'm hoping I can find a color in my paint cabinet.  I'll keep you posted. 
Keep reading »