When Adulting is Fun

Two nights ago, we didn't get home until almost midnight. (I know. We live on the edge.) I'd spoken at a church for their women's event, and by the time we stopped a few places on the way home, it was past our bedtime on a school night. 

Ryan's dinner had worn off, so he rummaged around for some chips and salsa, and while he did, I found a TV show to watch. And I told him this was the part of being an adult that was every bit as much fun as my childhood-self dreamed it would be.

I was such a weird kid. I declared a curfew for myself when I was a seventh grader, and I stuck to it pretty religiously (on school nights, anyway) until I went to college. I put myself to bed at 9:45 and turned out the lights at 10:15. For the half hour in between, I journaled, did my devotions, and read in a book if I had extra time. Came up with the whole plan myself. (How lucky were my parents?) (Don't worry. I am sure I gave them headaches in other areas.)

But even then, with rules I could blame on no one but myself, I dreamed of adulthood when such rules did not exist. I could stay up as late as I wanted. I could have a late-night snack if I wanted. I could watch TV at midnight (from my bed!) if I wanted. I could stay up all night if I wanted.

And I have done all those things. Don't misunderstand: Ryan and I still try to get to bed at a decent time because there is that evil alarm thing that happens every single morning. We try to be responsible adults. But we also occasionally cash in on the freedom to break the rules because we make them and therefore we can break them.

So sometimes we stay out until midnight. And when we come home, we eat chips and salsa. (Just Ryan this time, but I've been known to do it!) Sometimes we start a movie at 11:00 and fall asleep watching it. And while we don't really pull all-nighters, we could. (And I frequently did when I was single. I still remember one night when I started writing before I went to bed and stayed up until 4:00 in the morning. I slept for two hours and went to church!)

Adulthood comes with its fair share of headaches, doesn't it? I'm looking at you, tax season. The whole bill-paying, appointment-keeping, job-reporting can sometimes annoy us, but I believe adulthood isn't all bad. There are fun liberties we get to take that are every bit as delightful as they seemed from the childhood perspective.

Some of my personal favorites have included:

* Getting up at 4 in the morning to go to the donut shop, eating a donut on the way home, and then going back to bed for a few more hours.

* Having a slumber party on the living room floor and falling asleep watching movies.

* Eating cake for breakfast. (Or any other non-breakfast food.)

* Going for a late-night walk when the weather is too pretty to miss, even if it's too dark to see.

* Driving all night to start a vacation early. (We can't handle it anymore, but it was fun when it happened!)

* Spontaneous trips out of town for shopping and fun.

* Napping in the hammock.

These are the moments that make up (mostly, anyway) for taxes and oil changes. :)

Anything you do that we should try? I'm turning 40, you know. Time to maximize my adulting experiences.