Grown-up Things

I have been living on my own and responsible for myself pretty much since senior year of college, when I lived with my two college bffs in an on-campus apartment.  We cleaned it ourselves, and it was always fun to have Shell crank up the music as we fought away dust bunnies and mildew.

Fast forward more years than I care to admit.

I'm an adult now (sort of).  I live with my fiancee in a real apartment, with real furniture and real windows that don't keep the cold out and real mice that hold hip-hop parties at night.

Yet I still feel that sense of accomplishment when I do something adult-like.

I transfer money from checking to savings?  Sense of adulthood pride.

I pay my bills on time?  Happy dance in my brain as I congratulate my ability to use a check book.

Clean the apartment?  I may not enjoy the process, but when I'm done I feel so darn accomplished!

So why is it after all these years of being responsible for myself, do I still get a personal thrill for doing something that is inherently adult, yet something that people do again and again without fanfare?

Believe me, I don't expect you, dear readers, to pat me on the back when I pay my student loan bill.  I don't expect to call my mom and say 'Oh, by the way, I swept the apartment floor today' and have her congratulate me.

I kind of hope it doesn't go away.  If I keep having these little happy moments during my adult-responsibility activities, I'll be more likely to do them, right?  My strong sense of accomplishment will inspire additional bill paying, grocery shopping, cleaning, saving, and adult decision making, right?

Right?