What they do mean is that you will have to make decisions. Sometimes they're really fun to make; do I buy the red dress or the black shoes or both?!? Sometimes they're shit, how do I tell my husband I lost my job? They also don't tell you that decisions aside, you're now going to be burdened with things that you have no want or remote desire to contemplate.
Recently I've been faced with lots of facts that I don't want to deal with. These are the hardships that my parents must have actually been talking about. My life is relatively sublime. I love what I do for a living. I'm totally in love with my husband. We don't have money issues to worry about. And we get to travel due to his job, so I'll get to see lots of stuff before settling into any kind of family situation. I have no need to complain. I know lots of people are far worse off than I am. However, I've recently had a series of blows the last 2 years or so that make me question karma's intentions.
About a year and a half ago I was diagnosed with a condition that is not only rare but basically incurable. It might go away, it might not. Last year my grandpa was diagnosed with mesothelioma at age 65. We're not sure how much longer we'll have him with us. He's my only grandpa. In the last 2 months I've simultaneously been diagnosed with yet another condition that is basically incurable and might or might not go away; and at the same time my mom was diagnosed with heart disease at the age of 42. She'll have to go through surgery in a couple of weeks to have the sac around her heart removed.
I should thank my lucky stars that I'm not facing skin cancer, or something deadly myself. But two people really close to me are very close to that, and it scares the crap out of me. I've never lost anyone close to me. I don't think I can handle it if I have to face 2 deaths within 1 year. I don't think that will happen, I hope it won't. But why don't they tell you that these are the hardships that you will face when you grow up?
