In my youth my mom would drop me off with my Aunt to stay on her farm for a week several times throughout the summer. We would ride, canoe, shop and explore. She took me to WV, Gettysburg, Maine, MD and countless small local trail heads. I loved every single second that I spent with her and my Uncle. My mom would allow most things to occur, but I distinctly remembering her putting her foot down when they wanted to take me up in a hot air balloon. Of course, this was her sister and she knew her extremely well and knew she wouldn't let me get hurt.
Last Sunday, as I hooked up the trailer, I saw Haley's mom pulling out of the barn drive. I walked over to introduce myself to her assuming she would want to meet the person who was driving her 14 year old daughter to go ride. I shook her hand, told her where we were going, that it was well marked (well...that was mostly true), and that there would be people everywhere. I explained that it was as safe as riding on trails could be made and to not worry.
She really wasn't worried and just shook her head in response and told me to have fun.
I walked away feeling perplexed. Here I was, a complete stranger to this woman, and I was preparing to load up two horses and go ride. No way would my mom have let me go gallivanting off with some girl she didn't know. She would be wondering where the responsible adult was.
And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I was the responsible adult.
Holy crap. When did that happen?
That woman looked at me oddly because she saw me as a mid 30s working mother of a 3 year old who had been riding for forever and here I was trying to explain how many responsible people would be around.
There needn't have been other responsible people because I would be there. Crap.
I have officially turned into an adult.
I can still remember the first time I took a barn kid out on a trail ride with me, and we did not get back until pretty darn late (we rode out from the barn), like after dark, and the kid's dad was waiting for us. He said something like, Well, I figured you knew what you were doing and she would have a great experience! I had the same thoughts you did and was smart enough not to say "Actually, we got lost and I lost track of time and definitely did not intend to ride back in the dark..."
ReplyDeleteGetting old stinks and I am not even old yet :)
DeleteMy husband just posted this to his FB today: "The horrifying moment when you're looking for an adult but then you realize that you're an adult. So you look for an older adult, someone successfully adulting. An adultier adult." We talked about how I don't remember my aunts and mom ever complaining when they were in their mid-30s (when I was a kid) about forgetting they're grown-ups. It's certainly an odd feeling!
ReplyDeleteI would love to find an adultier adult some days. Alas, I think I am beyond that point in my life now. I don't recall my mom ever complaining about anything when I was a kid even when we had no money and were barely making it by. If she did have those thoughts she was good at keeping them away from us kids.
Delete