new horizon

Another moment from childhood that served as a milestone in the progression to maturity:

When wait staff at restaurants stopped offering me kiddie menus and crayons.

In my case this took a bit longer than most people since, as I've said, I have never looked my age. It was sort of offensive to my mature young-adult sensibilities--meaning I was an insufferable adolescent who thought she was above 'childish' things and was practically a grownup--when I was still being offered crayons and paper placemats with games on them until I was well into puberty. I don't quite know when it happened, since it was something that happened gradually--fewer and fewer hosts thought I was a little kid until eventually none ever did at all--so I don't know if you can even call this a milestone since it wasn't a single event.

Sometimes it's a bit sad to know you're officially too old for something fun just because you're an adult. I always feel embarrassed to admit I love colouring books and still buy them occasionally, because it's not okay for adults to do it. Of course, I do it anyway and just don't tell anyone. The worst things are the ones that are not only socially unacceptable but also physically impossible. I remember my disappointment when I realized I was too big to play on climbing frames at parks or fit my enormous hips through a tire swing.

I don't mean to imply that I don't want to grow up. It's just a sad moment in life when you realize that childhood is so far behind you that it's completely inaccessible to you now.