A Developmental Leap is when a person reached a turning point between phases of life and makes a giant step towards growing up. It's exhibited in children by being cry-y, cranky or clingy. In adults* it's exhibited by being cry-y, cranky and get-the-f#ck-off-y.
I've noticed it as such:
1) You pass up worrying about preventing gray hairs and wrinkles for wondering how they show up so quickly and being generally in awe of the transformation. Like one of those pills that, when in water, becomes a towel or a foam dinosaur.
2) You start off conversations with coworkers with the phrase, "My financial planner says..." and you get worried about other people not having a retirement plan. For both their sake and yours. You don't want your tax dollars to compensate for their lack of planning!
3) You get hair cuts with the specific intent to not look like a mom**, not draw attention and not have to spend more than 10 minutes on it***. I got my hair cut last Tuesday and literally NO ONE has said a word about it. Except The Mr, but he's legally required to notice.
4) An invitation to attend an outdoor concert seems like a trick.
5) When you happen to get in a nap, you wake up in a state similar to the twilight between drunk and hung-over and you haven't had a sip of alcohol in days. And yet... it was a wonderful nap! Let's go for broke and call an 8:30 bedtime!
6) Shopping makes you nauseous for a combination of any of the following reasons: prices, sizes, tweens, the general public, florescent lighting, touching those credit card machine buttons with your bare hands or the ease of accessibility to drive-thrus.
7) You scold someone else's unattended children in public and feel no shame. ("Hey hey hey! Watch for cars!")
8) You recognize your own slow-creeping racism/sexism that is birthed from road rage.
9) You notice a hobo pooping in the alley behind your house and, while you are disgusted, you commend him for doing it in some newspapers and at least trying to throw it away. Never mind he placed it in the recycling bin.****
10) You keep a formula letter to the city and/or bookmark the 311 website so that you can easily report downed tree limbs, blacken street lights, graffiti or that damn noise from the neighbors having a party past 10 PM*****.
*Me
**My only real request
***Even for formal occasions
****Have you read "Everybody poops"? You've gotta hand it to him. Or don't. Ew.
*****The. Nerve.
