I have had a rather unsettling revelation this week – apparently I am a grown up now. What gave it away you ask? No, not the fact that I will 30 soon, or that I have a mortgage or even that I have a child for that matter. The realisation came following a meeting with the bank to discuss Income Protection and Life Insurance which lead to the suggestion that Luke and I should have a Solicitor and (gulp) the writing of our Will’s. These things have been so far down on my list of priorities that they had never even rated a mention.
Of course I know that now we have a child these things need to be considered, it’s not just me that I have to think about now, but I had just swept that stuff aside thinking that I have plenty of time to deal with it later. I guess that’s the point though isn’t it? You can never really say how much time you have. That’s when it hit me, I must be a grown up because this stuff actually makes sense to me now, I can see why we need to have these things in order.
Coming to this made me see how far from a grown up you actually are in your 20s. I thought I was very grown up when Luke and I moved in together when I was 19. Yes we had the heavy (cough) responsibility of a 6 month lease to deal with and had to learn pretty quickly how much work really goes into looking after a house and paying bills and cooking and cleaning. But if it didn’t work out or it all got too much we could have just moved back home again, problem solved. Then when we bought a home when I was 21, I felt that I was extremely grown up and responsible, I boasted about taking on a mortgage so young and how mature we were for doing it. Then we promptly had an all night house warming party and spilled cheap port (served from a giant plastic drum with a tap on it) all over the floors. Yes, very mature indeed.
Until now I had never given much thought to how things are progressing, time ticks away and we deal with whatever the latest need is as it happens. I had lost track of where we were because I have been so busy just enjoying living our life. When the hell did all this stuff happen? I look around and we have the mortgage, a dog, car and machinery leases, credit cards, our own business and of course, Skye. Most of this has happened in the last 5 years and it all seemed a natural progression. Now that I add it all up, I must be a grown up, so how did I miss this?
I want make sure that we have this taken care of before too much more time is lost. I don’t want to still be oblivious to all our responsibilities in another 5 years when there is every chance that there will be bigger mortgages, more children and greater risk. Initially it all seemed a bit doom and gloom to me to even be discussing it, but the more thought I have put into it, the more I see it as peace of mind. It is just another part of being an adult and something that shouldn’t be avoided or ignored.
At the risk of sounding like I’m nagging, do you have all the grown up checklists covered? What prompted you to do so and did you struggle with the concept of preparing a Will? I would love to know if you feel more at ease knowing that you have put your wishes in writing and if it makes you feel that your loved ones are more protected for you having done so.
