Man’s Rants: from boy to Boomer

The ever-insightful Douglas of Boomer Musings wraps up Man’s Rants today. I want to thank Tony, IB, Spencer Casey, Unfinished Rambler and Douglas for contributing this week. It was such a pleasure working with all of you, and you each brough’ it! .

Coming of Age
by Douglas of Boomer Musings

It seems to me that Coming of Age conjures up any number of different things for each of us. There is no one experience, no singular event, that represents it for everyone.

For me, it came about the first time I made a conscious decision which would make a long term, probably life long, change to my life. Before that, decisions were things that had a very temporary impact or I was unaware of the possible long term repercussions.

The earlier decisions were simple things. Where to go on a date, what my favorite food was (that week), whether to skip class… that sort of thing. I skipped a lot of decisions, just let them decide themselves. This did not turn out to be a good way to prepare yourself for adulthood. I still have trouble with decisions. Which frustrates my wife beyond imagination. I think that reveals her lack of desire to make decisions also but I might not want to bring that up.

In any event, we were talking about Coming of Age, not my family issues. In late October of 1965, I made a major decision, one which radically altered my life. I enlisted in the US Navy. I was 19 years old. I made a commitment to let someone else dictate what I would do, where I would live, how I was to behave for the next 4 years. This was at a time where I really didn’t like to think more than a few days ahead.

I thought, a few days later, that it was the worst possible decision I could have made. That feeling came over me as I was sitting on the plane that was taking me to San Diego and Boot Camp. I thought I had really messed up my life. That thought lingered for almost two years.

Then, at some point I cannot determine, I began to realize that it wasn’t a bad decision. That it was simply an important one. I had done something that changed me, determined a good part of my future.

It was then I realized that Coming of Age was not something you recognize when it happens, it is something you become aware of after the fact, sometimes long after. And it is also not something that just happens once in your life. It happens a number of times because you go through different “ages”.

In my case, there was the Age of the Sailor. The next major “age” was called fatherhood. That one was more the recognition of a responsibility than it was a decision I made.The decision I made was to take it seriously.

So, while some might think Coming of Age means having sex for the first time. I think that is more trivial than we might believe at the time. That is a decision made by our hormones and utilizes very little of our brains. And Coming of Age might mean graduating from college to some. Well, I think that it really happened when you chose the college and determined your major.

Coming of age is making a commitment.

Have a wonderful weekend. I’m back at the bloggy-helm on Monday. Oh, and happy birthday, America! Watch out for errant bigwheels and candy hailstorms…xo