By Bill Mayeroff (http://www.chicagonow.com/where-beer-whiskey-flow/2014/12/adulthood-is-an-area-rug/
There are few things that make you feel more adult than thinking about area rugs.
About a week and a half ago, I moved into a new place. Of all the places I've lived, it's by far the most "adult." It's a downright classy apartment. Hardwood floors throughout. Crown molding and built-in shelves in the living room. An actual dining room as opposed to an eat-in kitchen. It's beautiful and it feels very adult.
But I've never really lived in such an "adult" place before. But how hard could it be, right? It's just an apartment, after all. Apparently not.
I thought I had it figured out. But then my mom started talking about area rugs. I hadn't even thought about them. I love hardwood floors. And the ones in my new place are in beautiful shape. Why would I cover those up with rugs? But she explained it and so I started looking for area rugs.
And that's where the adultiness of it all set in. For one, I wasn't prepared for the options. Different patterns. Different thicknesses. Different colors. Different sizes. And I have to get two of them - a big one for my living room and a smaller one for my bedroom. So I have to think about all these things twice.
But the adultiest part of this is the price. My god are area rugs expensive. Even the cheap ones are expensive. It feels like a very adult purchase because only adults would spend that amount of money on something as simple as a rug.
I'm about to turn 30. Crazy, right? I think so. I've technically been an adult for many years. And yet this whole area rug thing makes me realize adulthood isn't a destination. It's a journey. Yeah yeah. Terrible cliche, I know. Anyway.
My point is that you don't wake up one day as an adult. It's a process. And as I'm finding out, there's always something to learn ... even if it's only about area rugs.
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[ Brandon Oriental Rugs (www.BrandonRugs.com) comments: "Bravo for Bill upon his realization that making decisions that have lifelong consequences IS a sign of adulthood. And, selecting an area rug (or any home furnishing) IS one of those decisions that has the potential for persistence in existence when approached maturely.
At the time of Bill's nativity in the 1980's (when his now fifty-something parents were then thirty-something) "thirty-something" was associated with YUPPIEs, (young upwardly mobile professionals) a phenomenal class of achievers bound and determined to acquire, perpetuate and prominently display their enjoyment in every possible sign of wealth and refinement.
Bill is prescient in understanding that the present generation of thirty-somethings might not be as serious about long-term considerations (at least as they relate to actually being able to sustain "the good life".) As he is finding, to his amazement, his peers would do well to consider the great fun that can be had by applying a thrill seeker's spirit to exploits that can yield excitement and pleasure for more than (at best) a day or a week. Rug collecting is among those pursuits whose evident rewards (like trophies) provide the enthusiast perpetual bragging rights to noteworthy achievement." ]
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