I Guess This Is Growing Up

It is so easy to be petty. And it is way too simple to be negative. It is also extremely convenient to be those things when you think that you have some legitimate excuse to be that way, but at the end of the day you will actually never have a legitimate excuse to be any of those things and you will only make yourself feel like crap if you indulge in the bad, sad and ugly sides of yourself when things are going wrong in your life.  
It is during these particular challenging times of my life that I always try to reel my intentions and my attitude back in, reassess, stop being a whiny bitch and get back on with putting one foot in front of the other and just generally being an adult. However, I cannot deny that sometimes this is far easier said than done. 
Over the years I have had to employ more and more adult behaviour into my life, even though I would far prefer to be flossing about in the garden with flowers in my hair and no thought or concern about tomorrow. Yes, that is a very appealing scenario to me, but as you get older the opportunities to indulge in these kinds of behaviors gets dimmer and dimmer and further away all of the time. This does not mean that you should just stop indulging your innermost child, but it does mean that sometimes you have slap yourself upside the head, shake it off and get on with the processes of life, no matter how much that does not interest or excite you. 
Adulting is an unfortunate side effect of getting older, an extremely unfortunate side effect if you ask me, but it must be done because the expectations around 'being an adult' are plain and clear. No-one is going to put up with an immature whiny middle aged woman for very long, God knows I cannot put up with myself for very long when I am at my worst!
However, it's not all doom and gloom because there are actually some really great benefits and signs that you are maturing in the most wonderful of ways. Take a look at this list from quotecollective.com about the top ten signs that you're maturing:

1. Small talk no longer excites or interests you.
2. Sleep is more important to you than a Friday night out. 
3. You forgive more.
4. You become more open-minded.
5. You respect differences. 
6. You don't force your love onto others.
7. You accept heartache and failures.
8. You don't judge quickly.
9. You sometimes prefer to stay silent rather than engage in nonsense. 
10. Your happiness doesn't depend on others but on your inner self. 

And I would like to add another 10 positives to maturing that I have found particularly humbling over the last 12 months of my life:

1. You acknowledge that sometimes your inner voice is a bitch and you know that you don't have to listen to her. 
2. You know and accept that things happen and you can't do a frickin thing about it and you can 'just deal.' 
3. Smile and wave boys, smile and wave - if you're mature you will completely understand.
4. You acknowledge and accept that you have little to no control over what your children will say and do.
5. If people aren't making any effort, you recognise that they're not your people. 
6. You know that your needs do not have to come first.
7. You know that you are not ever a victim because you create your own reality. 
8. You understand that complicated is just as okay as simple. 
9. You accept that not everyone will get you and can say 'big whoop' when that happens. 
10. You know that you will never always be motivated and therefore you must learn to be disciplined. 

OOOHHH! Look at me, all grown up and finally learning to accept, acknowledge and recognise my own shortcomings, I have done some pretty serious evolving over the last twelve months that's for sure. Still though, I cannot deny that the frolicking in the garden thing is still wildly appealing to me. Regardless of how much I may be adulting the crap of things lately, there are certain things that I am not ready to abandon for a mature life just yet. 

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
Release Date: 2004
Rating: PG
Running Time: 119 mins 
Produced by Studio Ghibli, this Japanese fantasy animation was scripted and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and is based on the novel of the same name by British writer Diana Wynne Jones. After it's premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Howl's Moving Castle went onto become one of the most financially successful Japanese films of all time, and it is easy to see why, this film is truly a delicate and beautiful piece of children's cinema. 
Sophie, a young hat maker, encounters a powerful and extremely odd wizard named Howl. Unbeknownst to Sophie, Howl is being pursued by the evil Witch of the Waste, who puts a spell on Sophie after she refuses her services due to her rudeness. Sophie is transformed into a ninety year old woman and must travel through the Wastes, to seek a cure for her transformation. 
Howl's Moving Castle is a sophisticated children's film, with lots of adult emotions and concepts, and at the heart of it all, it is essentially a romance tale. Christian Bale does a fabulous job of voicing Howl, and Lauren Bacall is the perfect choice for the voice of the Witch of the Waste. There is something here for children and adults and alike, and although I didn't like it as much as Spirited Away, it was an enjoyable watch and definitely a good family viewing experience. 
FINAL SAY: A heart's a heavy burden.
3.5 Chilli Peppers

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