![\"rum](\"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cake-225x300.jpg\")
But I didn\u2019t eat it for breakfast, because I realized that I didn\u2019t really want cake. I wanted real breakfast: fresh fruit, homemade granola, good yogurt, some almonds.<\/p>\n
That, I think, is being a mature adult: recognizing that you actually don\u2019t want things that sound like indulgences because they really wouldn\u2019t be all that enjoyable. Another piece of cake after dinner is very pleasurable, but treats are really more fun when they\u2019re treats, not a substitute for the basics.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Little kids want treats all the time because they haven\u2019t had all those years of discovering that \u2014 for example \u2014 too much sugar without something more substantial can feel lousy later.<\/p>\n
Young people often associate getting drunk with having fun in part, I think, because they\u2019ve been told it\u2019s \u201cbad.\u201d I mean, when I was younger, I recall feeling like I\u2019d never done anything bad. I went out and bought cigarettes, which is a profoundly stupid thing to do. I also altered an old driver\u2019s license so I could buy beer (I think the statute of limitations has probably run out on that).<\/p>\n
But I don\u2019t actually like being drunk. Being slightly buzzed can be fun, but I\u2019m not going to have more fun if I keep drinking, plus I\u2019m going to feel rotten later. (This might also be because I get sick to my stomach before I ever get to the point of drunkenness where I forget what\u2019s going on. I never forget. I remember it all too well.)<\/p>\n
Part of maturity, I have concluded, is realizing that you don\u2019t really like doing some of the things that are reputed to be fun.<\/p>\n
These days, we call doing things like paying bills and doing taxes and cleaning house \u201cadulting.\u201d I dislike that terminology. Adulting should be about doing what you want to do, not about doing those unpleasant chores that we are all faced with.<\/p>\n
I mean, everybody has to do unpleasant tasks, even kids. Remember homework? Or getting dressed up and going someplace boring because your parents want to do it?<\/p>\n
Doing the things that have to get done so that you have a roof over your head and food on the table and don\u2019t have the IRS knocking on your door is just something we\u2019re stuck with.<\/p>\n
I plan to continue dealing with my taxes by procrastinating as long as possible and then being miserable while I do them. I don\u2019t think that fits anyone\u2019s definition of adult or mature, but I\u2019m old enough to thumb my nose at other people\u2019s definitions.<\/p>\n
Mature people decide what they want and then do what\u2019s necessary to make it happen. I want to feel physically good as much as possible, so I eat right, do my physical therapy exercises, and walk a lot. I also want to enjoy myself, so I make tasty food that I look forward to and also walk a lot.<\/p>\n
I really like walking. In fact, I went hiking around the waterfront in Berkeley for my birthday. Time in nature with the Bay and creatures and plants is very satisfying.<\/p>\n
Doing what you want to do can involve making some responsible choices, like doing physical therapy. It can include setting boundaries: you don\u2019t have to go to late night parties if you really want to be in bed by 10 pm. Learning to say no to things you don\u2019t want to do is as important as saying yes to things you care about.<\/p>\n
Despite there being a part of me that likes to think I\u2019m a wild spirit, the truth is that wildness comes out more in ideas and colorful clothes than it does in partying all night.<\/p>\n
Being a person who eats cake for breakfast sounds enticing, but it\u2019s better as a fantasy than real life. For me, I mean. Your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the day after my birthday \u2014 a day when I was moving slowly and late getting around to eating \u2014 I contemplated the idea of chocolate cake for breakfast. I had a lovely rum ganache cake for my birthday, from the local Oakland bakery Taste of Denmark (which is owned by its employees). It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[265,519,518],"class_list":["post-2084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-experiences","tag-adulting","tag-cake","tag-maturity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2086,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084\/revisions\/2086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}