And I’m not counting things like what you do or get when you grow up like having a bank account or getting a real job. Nor am I accepting the whole ‘I just grew up’.
My sign of my childhood ending or accepting that it has ended is when all of the nu-metal bands I was introduced to and listened to a lot of us just ended up fractured. They all didn’t endure the passage of time and it was really just a matter of you had to be there to know how popular they were or the scene was.
The bands I used to have listened to have gone the way of Classic Rock on the radio. Spammed tracks from some bands because that’s all the DJ knows or that’s all they’re allowed to play.
I don’t know, but it might be the time when I ran out of ideas of what to get for christmas. As a kid I always wanted something like cars, lego, sport stuff, bike, whatever came to my mind. I rarely got those things, but my mind was always in “I want that” mode. But growing up I realized I don’t need most those things and also that my parents tried hard to get me at least something so I just “gave up” and asked for actually useful stuff (clothing, socks, etc).
Adding to that, I actually started appreciating a pair of good quality socks.
I have become that cliche where I genuinely look forward to getting socks under the tree on Christmas morning.
I’m a grown ass man who can at any point in any day decide to get in my automobile and go to any store and buy a mountain of socks, or order a pallet of socks to be drop-shipped to the door of my grown up house on a whim.
But I prefer to suffer holy toes and see through heels in anticipation of starting fresh on Christmas morn.
When I realized this in my soul, I was no longer a child.