At what point...

At what point in your life did you realize that you were no longer a child/teenager but an adult?

For me it was when I had to pay my first house payment and buy everything my house needed...I know it sounds like I was a little late in life but I was 18 when I bought my first place it was a singlewide trailer cute little place I was so proud! Even when Mom came to see it and fussed at me for wasting my money on a trailer and told me Id be begging to come home in a couple of months I was still proud of myself...I went about 5 months with no TV or Internet just so I could live there on my own...sometimes Id even go a couple of weeks on Raman Noodles and water...but I made it!!! I'm 20 and married now and in a new house

What about you?

Truthfully, when I knew I was an adult was when I was 33. I had moved away from home, lived my own life, but always knew I had a home to go to if something happened. I moved back home after my dad died, then mom got diagnosed with cancer. I took care of her for 14 months until she passed. Then, going through the estate, paying bills on two houses, cleaning out the house....yeah, that made me grow up real fast. (yeah, I was a late bloomer).

Now, there are times I just want to be 6 years old again!!

But, I have a wonderful husband and a new house with an incredible mortage payment, so I'm never going back to my childhood again. At least, not until I get real old and am back in diapers!

I think I realized it when I was about 12 years old and was put in charge of taking care of my father and sister while my mom worked. I was required to clean the house until it was spotless daily, cook for my father and sister, empty my father's bedpans and such after his surgeries, and homeschool my sister. I missed out on a lot, and now at only 21 I feel so old!

It was when I was seven and started cooking the family dinner every night. I also mopped, waxed, vacuumed, dusted, cleaned, mowed the lawn, trimmed the sidewalks, did the laundry...

I don't really know when I started feeling like an adult, My father died when I was 17, My mom started drinking and I left home, My boyfriend and I rent our first apartment at 18, we married at 19, we've been married 28 years. I think the first time .I really remember thinking oh god, now I'm an adult is when we adopted our first child, Lisa. We were 31. When we had her for about 6 weeks, I was going to go for a walk, I got half way down the drive way, and remembered. there was this tiny baby sleeping in my house, at that moment I realized, my life was no longer my own.

hmm i will let you know when i get there lol.
but you know some people say men never grow up.
really, as long as the bills are paid, and everyone person and cat has food. The rest is play time. Unless someone can come up with a reason not to lol

if i make to the old folks home i can still at this point in time seem me playing the playstation 7, on what ever. in some ways i am very simple.
a good book, a good game, i tend to be happy.

I am not male but will let ya know when I get there .... at 30 I am awfully young thinking

First time i really felt "on my own" so to speak was when i started paying for my medicine/medical bills on my own a few yrs back. Sooo darn expensive!

When I was 14 years old and living by myself because my Mom spent most of the last years of her life in the hospital. I was going to school and making and selling crafts in order to support myself because each time my Mom went into the hospital Welfare cut off her portion of the food and shelter allowance making me have to come up with the shortfall. And when she was at home I had to not only cook, clean, shop and do laundry, but I also had to do medical treatments for her, order and monitor oxygen and bath and dress her too.

I had a lot of responsibility and had to grow up really early.

It was probably when I was 23 and had my first child. I will be 52 in February and I still find myself daydreaming about what I want to be when I grow up. I don't feel like I am middle aged.

I think when i was 20 and finally moved out on my own, although i still had help from parents i guess when i turned 21 and life kind of changed.

When I was 11, my 1 y/o sister became very ill and spent time in the hospital; our Mom stayed with her each time she was admitted and would be gone for days at a time. I became the "woman of the house" off and on for several years, coming home after school and cooking for my Dad and 3 older brothers. Actually, I enjoyed that, so maybe it doesn't count.

When I was 16 and my brother died unexpectedly. Somehow, I held it together for the first few weeks while everyone else was falling apart. I did all the shopping, cleaning, etc.

I also felt grown up when I went off to college by myself with no family living close by....

Honestly, when I just turned 30 a couple weeks ago I moved out for the first time when I was 19, moved back in for a year at 21 and have been out again since I was 22, paying my own bills, etc, etc. Been married and divorced, held a real job for the last 8+ years, heck held 2 jobs for the last 8+ years I also did a lot of cooking and cleaning when I was younger, my grandma, also my best friend, died when I was 12. I just never felt "adult" until I turned 30

When I was 20 I suppose. I graduated from college & moved 2 hours away from my family to start my own life & first 'real' job. I've been paying for my own rent, bills & car payments since I was 17, so moving away from home was when I really felt like an adult

my parents were leaving me by myself while they went to the bar on the weekends when i was 13 i have pretty much taken care of myself since then but even tho i appear as an adult i will never quit being a kid everyday of my life....

I was 26 and had to take care of funeral arrangements for my husband and sister in the same year. My parents lived 3000 miles away from me and my sister, so it was left to me. My husband's mother was a greedy vulture and wouldnt take care of any plans, so I did them without her.

I never felt like an adult even after moving out at 18, living all over the place, and supporting myself. With any grownup things I did, didnt feel grown up until I was 34 or so

I also had my first expensive dental work done in 2007 - that made me feel like a grownup! I whined to my mother a lot that week "I don't like being an adult WAAAHH!"

Now I'm feeling old because I've been complaining about Maryland's tax increases all day and checking how my 401k is doing and complaining that the cold is making my knee ache. My dad complains about taxes a lot so I know I'm old now.

For me it depends on the day. Most days I feel like a grown up. I work full time, go to school full time, have a husband and we're discussing starting a family soon. At the same time, we still rent and there are some days when I (need) to revert a little by playing video games, teasing my husband and doing other silly (childish?) things just to keep my sanity!

Originally Posted by bnwalker2

I think I realized it when I was about 12 years old and was put in charge of taking care of my father and sister while my mom worked. I was required to clean the house until it was spotless daily, cook for my father and sister, empty my father's bedpans and such after his surgeries, and homeschool my sister. I missed out on a lot, and now at only 21 I feel so old!

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By your posts I would have never guessed you're only 21!

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

It was when I was seven and started cooking the family dinner every night. I also mopped, waxed, vacuumed, dusted, cleaned, mowed the lawn, trimmed the sidewalks, did the laundry...

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For all of you who were forced to grow up too soon... I hope as adults you've found your inner child. No one deserves to have such responsibilities as a child. My mom's mother was clinically insane and she was laden with all those adult responsibilities... I think it's made her a martyr. So, go play in the snow and be a kid for an afternoon!

Originally Posted by twstychik

...For all of you who were forced to grow up too soon... I hope as adults you've found your inner child.... So, go play in the snow and be a kid for an afternoon!

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Or carve a pumpkin at Halloween, sing loudly even if you don't sing that well, chew gum, learn piano, and play video games. It's never too late to have that childhood.