By Tara Nicole Walker
12/27/2004
You hear "grow up" all your life
But no one really wants to
Why is that, exactly?
Because life ends. They say it
Because misery loves company
And it's not fair if you get it easier
Or if you end up smarter
In your younger years
Than they
The sweet innocence of young wisdom
And knowing
That life doesn't end after highschool
OK, so highschool's over
Can't get a decent job because the next
Generation up is telling you to "grow up"
But you don't want to
Because life ends
You find a menial job you fall in love
But what next?
You don't wanna grow up, because
If you get married, life ends
Isn't that the way it always goes?
That's where the story ends
With a vague "and they lived happily ever after"
But you decide to grow up and realize
That live doesn't end at marraige
OK. So you're married.
And surprise - somebody's pregnant.
Now what? You don't even have time to think
Your life just ended.
No more privacy no more sleep no more money
Not enough money in the first place
There's no place to go.
The job hasn't gotten better
You're still hearing "grow up" now more than ever
You can't be a kid if you've got one of your own
Right?
Not really the case.
You grow up and realize...
Life doesn't end with kids
OK. So now you're life's really ended, right?
She's fourteen. Guess what. She's growing up.
And where are you?
You've finally gotten a better job
She's gotten a slightly better boyfriend
You just started taking anxiety pills
And guess what pills she's taking...
So you go out, you get drunk and you grow up
And you come home. You give her a hug.
You kiss her on the forehead.
And tell her "never grow up"
Well. She's grown and gone.
Been that way for a while and now
All the sounds you've grown accustomed to
All seem to fade away
And they only things you are left with are
The hollow silences with echoing memories of
"Grow up"
What's that supposed to mean anyway?
You're joints are giving way
After all we're not built to last
And we've grown up so many times
That we don't know what to do with ourselves
She calls every once in a while to say she loves you
In spite of all the mistakes you guess you'd made
Now she's got kids... don't see them much
She moved last year... And the clock ticks on
No more job, and now you've switched
From anxiety pills to the depression ones
But they don't seem to be working
And silence still reigns...
But one day you decide to "grow up"
And you get a hobby...
'Cause life never really ends, you know...
I guess there's always something else...
'Cause life doesn't end after highschool