There sure is not a lot of glamour in becoming a grown-up.Christmas Days spent lounging around in my pajamas all day long, playing with all my new gifts? Thing of the past. This year, I spent my Christmas afternoon in the driveway trying to wrestle my rusty flat tire off my car. I ruined my "good" gloves and most definitely broke in a new pair of jeans. In the process, I managed to lose my wedding ring, sending my wife and sister-in-law into a fevered hunt through the snow in the backyard. (My wife eventually found it in the bathroom garbage can, where it must have slipped off my finger after washing and wiping my hands.)
Today I spent a healthy portion of my afternoon in the lobby of the auto repair shop, waiting to get my flat tire patched. They informed me it was beyond repair and I needed at least two new tires. I elected to get a full set of four, plus an oil change. There goes our holiday bonus.
Oh, it's not all bad, though. After all, we are hosting my wife's family for the holidays this year. Last night, after my wife successfully and deliciously cooked her first Christmas turkey, I carved my first Christmas turkey. We built a fire in our fireplace for the first time and had a wonderful night with the family. No, growing up isn't bad at all. But the not-so-fun aspects are the perfect sequitur for the Greatest Song of Today: "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" by Tom Waits.
http://www.tomwaits.com/
