Getting Old(er)

On Sunday I'll be turning 29. One year away from the "dirty thirty". I don't think I'm getting that "I feel old" vibe like many of my friends do. I'm okay with the number. I don't mind getting older, but I refuse to grow up. The difference between little kid J.P. and adult J.P. is the paycheck. I still buy Star Wars toys and comics, but I also buy ottoman's and electric toothbrushes. In one of my columns for Komic Sutra where I lamented about getting older and acting more mature, I compared buying a new car to a, "...more expensive addition to my collection of adult stuff." Now instead of a Darth Vader statue or a video game system, I find myself saving for a house. Adults are nerds of a different nature; you're still accumulating mostly useless items that matter to no one but yourself. My comic library is about as uninteresting to you as your new lawnmower is to me.

Leslie and I went out to Pottery Barn on New Years and dropped a bunch of cash on a new entertainment center. It houses all of our video games and our powerhouse television. It's kind of an immature adult purchase. And if I had my way I would fill the empty shelves with action figures. This is my balance between childhood and adulthood.

Sometimes I get sad when I see myself making more adult decisions. Trading in chocolate milk for Cinnamon Dolce Latte with not-fat and no whip. Being a kid was just so much easier. I didn't care about the economy or politics. My biggest concern was whatever toy was advertised on TV last and how soon could you get me to Toys R Us. Even though I'm going through the motions, I still can't help but feel like a kid playing adult. I do things not because they seem like the best choice, but because it seems like something an adult would do.

One thing I never hope to lose touch with is that sense of wonder that kids look at everything with. Every day should still hold a new adventure and new experiences.

As for having kids ourselves, the tried and true sign of adulthood, there are no plans thus far. And truthfully, that decision is totally up to Leslie. If she wants to that's fine, if she doesn't want to I'm okay with that too. Sometimes I think this world is so crappy, who would ever want to bring a child into it. And then sometimes I think that there are so many kids out there without parents if anything we should adopt. The self-loathing part of me thinks my genes don't offer anything much to an offspring. Leslie on the other hand is brilliant and would no doubt make an incredible descendant.

And please don't think I didn't notice that I differentiate the age groups solely on what purchases they make. There's obviously much more to it then that. It's no secret that I can be pretty materialistic. That's something that hasn't changed in me since I was a kid. Hopefully that is proof that I'll never fully grow up.