you never stop to think about it -
when you’re young,
when it’s your schedule,
when it’s your activities,
when it’s your life that has top billing.

i sit at a desk covered in paperwork, so many sheets left to be chased down.
i got a notification of a bill from a recent doctor’s visit.
i have company unexpectedly staying with me for the next few days.
i live with the keen understanding that my life is not my own - my space is not my own, my time is not my own, even my body is not my own.

as a child, being an adult means independence.
as an adult, being a child means freedom.
those are two very different things.