Wondering When This Happened

Since a recent birthday (that ends in zero), I have found myself wondering about a few things.

Like: When did I become the person who, with (ahem) relative ease and competence, throws together a turkey dinner for the holidays? (I used to be the "next generation" person, a daughter or in-law, who helped the family matriarch get everything together.)

Like: When did I become someone who inspects every bit of barnacle skin that has recently begun appearing on various appendages, just to be sure that the barnacles are harmless? (I used to "lay out" in the sun in pursuit of a tan, positive that wrinkles and skin cancer would never come my way.)

Today I found myself wondering something slightly different, yet ultimately related: Why does the house smell like sweet-and-sour takeout?

The answer is that at some point, my husband accepted that he is the person who is responsible for ensuring that our home maintains some humidity in the driest time of the year. This means he fills and maintains the humidifier. Our well water is calcific (calceous? calciferous?) (contains lots of calcium) and that builds up and creates clogs. So he's running the humidifier with vinegar, which makes the house smell like sweet-and-sour sauce (to me).

All of which, taken together, indicates that at some point I crossed a boundary into adulthood. Which you would think wouldn't be news to someone whose recent birthday was not, alas, her 40th. Whose parents, as my nephew points out, now celebrate their birthdays in heaven. Whose keychain includes not only a plastic thingy for a gym membership and the library but also a CARP membership.

However, as I've said about moving to a new country, it's the little things about your journey into new territory that trip you up.

Aha! So that's what this is--culture shock. Okay. (Is it too late to go back? It's just that, like that Sherman Alexie quote about being at home in neither culture, I'm not always sure I belong here.)