# Am I a "grown-up" now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712 "2008-09-29T14:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![erleichda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4da419/32.png) [@erleichda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erleichda)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/1 "2008-09-29T14:54:00Z")
It’s my 40th birthday! I’m not sure if I feel :eek: or :D! ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/2 "2008-09-29T14:55:58Z")
> [@erleichda](#): > > It’s my 40th birthday! > I’m not sure if I feel :eek: or :D! Happy Birthday! I hope you feel great! I’m not a grown up yet and I’m 50. I do some grown up things, but I’m not ready to join the ranks of the “get off my lawn” set. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/3 "2008-09-29T15:08:09Z")
Wishing you a good day, a good year and a great life. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/4 "2008-09-29T15:24:09Z")
When you are introduced to somebody and can say “How do you do?” without sounding or feeling like a dweeb, then you are a grown-up. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/5 "2008-09-29T18:28:37Z")
Happy Birthday to you, and many happy returns of the day! 🙂 You’re as young or as mature as you feel. Profound, yes? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/6 "2008-09-29T18:31:42Z")
Happy birthday! May you always continue to mature, but may you never forget how to play. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/7 "2008-09-29T18:41:34Z")
Happy birthday! You have to get old, but you don’t have to grow up. I think you qualify as a grown up when you are fully supporting yourself; maybe you’re wondering if you’re “middle aged” yet? 🙂 I’ll be 42 in a couple of months - so far, my forties have been great. No one ever told me that your forties were so…comfortable (well, maybe they did, but I ignored them because they were old). I have a husband, a house, a car, money, investments, education, a clue about the world, just about everything I could need or want. The only downside is my body falling apart, but that happens gradually so you get used to it (I keep telling myself). ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/8 "2008-09-29T19:11:51Z")
Did they issue your bifocals yet? (I got mine almost to the day of my 40th Birthday - doc said “Happy Birthday & welcome to your 40’s”). ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/9 "2008-09-29T20:22:02Z")
Chronologically I’ve been a grownup for 4 years, but in reality my inner child is still running the show. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/10 "2008-09-30T05:12:26Z")
> [@ASAKMOTSD](#): > > Did they issue your bifocals yet? > > (I got mine almost to the day of my 40th Birthday - doc said “Happy Birthday & welcome to your 40’s”). I noticed that I was starting to not be able to focus up close right around my 40th, too. I haven’t got the bifocals yet - insurance only pays for eye doctor every two years. I’ll probably get them next year. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/11 "2008-09-30T06:39:54Z")
My Grandmother once said to me, “People ask me what it feels like to be 76, how the hell should I know, I feel the same as I did when I was 30, I just look a lot worse.” I recently turned 40 and I know what she means, I can’t _really_ be a 40 year old can I? I am obsessive about seeing people “my age” and wondering if I look that good/bad. I’m still hot, right? Right?? (I joke around the only reason I deal poker for a living is because to the 80 year olds, I _am_ a firm, young thing.) ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/12 "2008-09-30T07:07:40Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > \ > (I joke around the only reason I deal poker for a living is because to the 80 year olds, I _am_ a firm, young thing.) That’s the same reason I love my writing group! I’m the (43y/o) _baby!_ Happy Birthday\*\* erleichda\*\*, Well, if we’re not \*real \*grown-ups at 40, at least we’re better at faking it! ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/13 "2008-09-30T07:16:44Z")
I turned 30 a couple of weeks ago and found myself thinking: “I’m 30, I’m married, I have a sucessful career - and I still don’t feel like a grown-up!” I keep waiting for somebody to notice I’m just a big kid playing at being an adult. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/14 "2008-09-30T07:43:49Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I’ll be 42 in a couple of months - so far, my forties have been great. No one ever told me that your forties were so…comfortable (well, maybe they did, but I ignored them because they were old). I have a husband, a house, a car, money, investments, education, a clue about the world, just about everything I could need or want. The only downside is my body falling apart, but that happens gradually so you get used to it (I keep telling myself). I’ll be 42 in a couple of months, too. I started the year at 41 feeling really unhappy with who I was - not my life per se, I am happily married with great teenaged kids and a good job. But I did not like the person I saw in the mirror every morning. So I made some changes. By the time I hit 42 I intend to be close to the weight I was when I was 22. I will be fitter and in better health, and all round happier with my life. And regaining the physique of a twenty-something has shifted my attitudes back, too. The idea of doing something physically intense (and probably muddy) seems way more fun than it did this time last year. I fully intend to indulge that “inner twenty-some” midlife crisis - what midlife crisis Si ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/15 "2008-09-30T15:52:39Z")
I may get older, but I refuse to grow up. The 3yo Butlerette gives me plenty of opportunities to let the inner child come out… too bad she’ll be embarrassed by that silliness in another 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![erleichda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4da419/32.png) [@erleichda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erleichda)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/16 "2008-10-02T03:41:30Z")
Thank you all for the birthday wishes! I spent my birthday working late, but I did buy myself some new plants! ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/17 "2008-10-02T15:47:22Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > I turned 30 a couple of weeks ago and found myself thinking: “I’m 30, I’m married, I have a sucessful career - and I still don’t feel like a grown-up!” I keep waiting for somebody to notice I’m just a big kid playing at being an adult. I’m 33, and you need to get out of my head (and off my lawn). ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-grown-up-now/465712/18 "2008-10-02T18:09:04Z")
You’re not 40 - you’re 21 with 19 years of on-the-job- experience. Now get offa my lawn, ya young whippersnapper!