You Know You're Grown Up When . . . - Softcover

One day, you're eating out with your parents and you pick up the check. Or you notice your muscles are sore after washing the car. Or there's a bat in the bedroom at 3:00 A.M. and you're the one who has to deal with it. Then it dawns on you: This is what it means to be grown up.

For everyone who no longer wants his MTV, and who ranks New Year's Eve somewhere below Arbor Day on a list of favorite holidays, here is a little book of knowing observations on the nature of being an adult. It considers parents, work, spouses, personality quirks, materials, values, and children as a way to tell you you're grown up when: You're less embarrassed by weird relatives; your "baby brother" is getting a divorce; you know you'll never run a marathon, own a villa in the South of France, or control General Motors; you don't like shopping anymore; and one more thing: you'll know you're grown up when you can read a book like this and laugh instead of panic. Which you'll do, if you're grown up.