Small shifts in growing up

I've always believed that the first time my husband and I host Christmas at our home for our respective parents, we'll really be grown up. I was raised in a household where my mom has regularly cooked the Christmas dinner for the family that often descends upon us at the end of the year. Christmas at home has been almost entirely her responsibility for the 30 years she's been married to my father. And that's pretty grown up.

Having spent the last few days with R's parents who are visiting us from the States, I have been thinking about getting older. More specifically, I've been considering the subtle series of changes that occur which move a child into the adult role while the parents move back into the role of the children. I love both sets of parents to death. But I have noticed that, particularly around R's folks, we are starting to take the role of mom and dad. It's quite amazing how that happens. We direct the conversation, the activities, and the general admin part of things, including the cooking and cleaning. One of these days, my mom and dad will take a back seat around hosting Christmas. And I guess that means that R and I will naturally step up. Guess I'm not a kid anymore.

HoneyChild