The Goddess Speaks
The Goddess Speaks
I did a double take the first time a few years ago my barely twentysomething co-worker exclaimed, "You da bomb!" (I finally figured out it was a compliment.) The first time I was told "You go girl!" my befuddled response was, "Go where?" Where was I when
I grew up?When did I fall out of the loop? When did I become part of this older generation that grocery clerks refer to as "ma'am?"
Alanis Morissette is how old?
Popular music defines and divides generations. Although I have found some forms of alternative music exciting, my comfort zone is definitely "classic."
About five years ago, I fell in love with the Spin Doctors, a group now probably relegated to the "oldies" bins. When the group came to town back then, I was there, dude! I was hip! I was happening! I was going to my first rock concert since Van Halen blew into town in 1989!
Imagine my surprise when, at the start of the show, the crowd surged toward the stage and began charging each other at break-neck speeds. This went on as others were hoisted above the crowd and tossed about like baggage on a conveyor belt. I sat drop-jawed a safe distance away as someone explained this was called moshing.
"Did you recently climb out from under a rock," this person asked with the requisite eyes-rolling-toward-heaven exasperation of the cool addressing the clueless.
Will the real Laurie please stand up?
When did I grow up? Maybe it was the day my father died six years ago. It could have been after the break-up of my first marriage. (I'm getting the hang of this marriage thing the second time around!)
Or it may have been the day I found out I was pregnant with my first child and gave up cigarettes. That was a grown-up decision, wasn't it? Or maybe it was the moment I held my newborn son for the first time and realized this little guy would be totally dependent on me and my life would change forever.
It could have been just a few months ago when I discovered I was pregnant with my second child and my doctor said, "Since you're in the 'advanced maternal age' category, we're going to have to run certain tests."
Do I get to pick out a walker on the way out, Doc?
I remember the first day I wore a pink sweater with the word "Mom" knitted into its pastel floral pattern. A friend grabbed me, looked me in the eye, and exclaimed, "Who are you and what have you done with my Laurie?"
Apparently, I was not the same woman who, just a few years ago, had tri-colored hair. Thick-soled Doc Marten boots gave way to sensible pumps. Business attire took the place of dark ensembles any witch would be proud to wear. After I became a mommy, my long hair gave way to a short, easy-to-manage, PTA-ready style.
Congratulations, you're all grown up, I think
So here I am, going on my 10th year of employment in a "respectable" job. Seventeen years ago, I was bouncing from radio station to radio station as a young, starry-eyed disc jockey. (There's nothing wrong with this as long as a living wage and job security are not priorities.)
So this is what it's like to be a grown up. It's not so bad.
Maybe tonight, after the dishes are washed and my son is pretending to be the Blue Power Ranger with his daddy, I'll dig up my old high school year book (Aiea, Class of 1979!). I won't be able to attend my reunion this year since the $45 fee is too pricey for my budget. Instead, I'll just put on my old recording of "Precious and Few" and remember what it was like to be a kid. It seems like a lifetime ago.
Laurie Okawa Moore, 38, is Director of Communications
at the Hawaii Credit Union League.
The Goddess Speaks runs every Tuesday
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