Adulting

I once thought turning 21 was an automatic entry into adulthood. The clock strikes 12, the 21^st birthday arrives, and adulting commences. Now that I have myriad decades of experience to draw from, I now know adulting is cyclical:

Leaving for college – quasi-adulting
Investing in college – adulting

Vacationing without your parents – adulting
Vacationing with your grandkids without their parents – adulting

Leasing an apartment without a co-signer – adulting
Buying a house and a sectional to furnish it – adulting

Moving across the country for the person of your dreams – adulting
Saying “my wife” or “my husband” for the first time – adulting

Buying a car without your dad – adulting
Looking in the rearview mirror and realizing the car seat, and the baby in it, belong to you – adulting

Orthodontia, broken bones, car insurance – adulting
Hearing aids, broken hips, health insurance – adulting

Burying a beloved friend – adulting
Learning your baby is having a baby – adulting

Discussing end-of-life wishes with your aging parents – adulting
Being the aging parent – adulting

What did I miss?