Before I became a thirtysomething mother whose eyes fill with tears at any mention of childhood hunger or loss of a spouse, I maintained what I now recognize as a gratitude practice. No, I was not spending a moment each day to be mindful of how lucky I was to be safe, healthy, and loved; rather, I would marvel to myself, “I am a grown up! I can stay up as late as I want and have Snickers bars for dinner! I can watch unlimited hours of television. No one will stop me!”
Last weekend I attended a curated reading called Voices of the Year at the BlogHer conference. The emcee introduced each author by sharing one thing that the author had said she looked forward to in adult life when she was a child. I wanted to pose the question to everyone at my table immediately.
I never ever eat a Snickers bar for dinner. My mother’s lessons are too ingrained in my head. But I would easily eat one after dinner — if I had thought to purchase one.
How about you? What did you look forward to doing as an adult? Do you do it?
