Growing Up

I discovered yesterday that there is a time in life, an exact moment, when you stop being a child and you start being an adult.  Some of you think this is a given.  I thought it was too until yesterday.  There will be an exact moment for every single one of you, when you will look at yourself and say, "My God, I am a grown up."  Until that time you will wander aimlessly wondering why you are here and what the point of all this wandering is.
When I turned 18 I thought, "Today I am an adult."  How stupid of me.  When I started college I again thought, "Today I am an adult."  Obviously when one moves out of their parents' home they foolishly believe that they have crossed into a new world of adulthood.  It is idiotic if you believe that.  I was not an adult the first time I filled taxes, or the first time my name was on a loan or car title.  I was still not an adult when I was listed as a backup guardian to my autistic younger brother.  Up until yesterday at 5:30 PM, I believed that I was an adult and that I could never go back.  Well, I was right about one thing.  Now I am here and I can never go back.  But at 5:30 PM last night, something happened that will change my life forever.
Last night, my mother texted me and asked if she was a good mom.  She has been feeling down lately, but this was extraordinarily unusual to hear from her.  So I called.  On the other end of that phone I heard something that I will not soon forget.  I heard my mother cry and ask me for advice.  Me, not even in this world for 21 years, and I am giving advice to my mother.  This is the woman I have cried to, laughed with, screamed at, and been loved by unconditionally for my entire life.  Here she was, asking the same of me with not so many words.  And it killed her to do it, but who else would she go to?  From the time I was very small I have been my mother's closest friend, and now in her time of need what could I do but give her all of my love and support.  When she had calmed down and I had told her that she was the best mom a girl could ask for, I hung up the phone, wiped away a tear, took a deep breath and said, "My God, I am a grown up."
Like I said, there is an exact moment and until then you will be a child.  Not every body will have the same epiphany in the same way, obviously, but I promise you, if you haven't had that moment yet, you will definitely know when you have it.  It isn't when you graduate, or move to your own place, or open your first credit card, or buy your first car.  It is a real grown up experience that nobody can define for you.
Good luck to all of you in your growing up endeavors.
Grow up gloriously my fine readers,
Maria