Older Adult, why??

I love movies that make me cry because it’s a reminder that I have a heart. It’s the one time when I don’t have to bury my emotions and avoid my problems. Yes, in this thing called adulting, I am an ostrich, I bury my head in the sand when I don’t want to face my problems.

The thing about adulthood problems that people don’t often speak about is that it never goes away. There’s always something to fix, bills to pay, and unwanted baggage including the ones you thought you wanted that’s now overwhelming and you are trying to escape from. Its a merry-go-round of problems and in simple Nigerian therapeutic phrase

PROBLEM NO DEY FINISH

Even though they say this when they are looking for an excuse to go off and spend their last 2k on a bottle of beer, suya, or chicken from KFC you can’t help but agree with the comfort that this phrase brings

• You accept that you are in deep shit and you probably don’t have a clue of how to fix it
• You relish in your cluelessness as you gulp the cold beer or coke or whatever while thinking that the gods must be crazy or just mean to curse grownups with such unending torment-Adulting
• You resolve that this too will pass then and it does. Just in time for another to begin.

As you must have found out since you are still here, this is no ordinary article. It is a rant to call out all the older adults, to complain and complain. Again, it's a rant.

Dear Older adult, brace yourself: I come with a mind full of questions

• Why didn’t you say that adulting was a bit of torment when we were young and eager to be independent.
• Why didn’t you tell me to relish the freedom of not having responsibilities?
• Why didn’t you say that doing the dishes isn’t a real problem and being an adult won’t stop you from doing dishes?
• Why didn’t you say that a college degree doesn’t automatically give you a job?
• Why didn’t you tell us to gather ten years of experience, keep it in our pockets so we can give future employers?
• Why didn’t you say that the word Employed doesn’t loosely translate to being rich?
• Older adult, why didn’t you say something when I made silly dreams of becoming a lawyer at 21 and marrying the love of my life at 23.
• Why didn’t you tell us about the pains, the gains, the wins and loses that come with loving so fiercely?
• Why didn’t you say that marriage isn’t a fairy tale? That there will be difficult conversations and decisions, that husband might get bored and leave you with three kids, that wife might have you father a child that isn’t yours, that there’s no such thing as a perfect parent.

Why??

I know these are a lot of questions but, surely a few more won’t hurt

• So why didn’t you warn us that birthdays might come with mental breakdowns and anxiety upon anxiety?
• Why didn’t you say that house-hunting is a task for the strong-hearted? imagine my surprise when a landlord said “I can’t lease you this apartment you aren’t Yoruba”

And finally, why didn’t you tell me about all the bills? And that it sometimes can cost you money to breathe.

Older adult, were you being selfish with this information, or were you lost? Were you also spending your last 2k and hoping for the best?

Were you also clueless, and like me right now, were you watching God?

I need answers.