Don't Grow Up

Like most kids I couldn't wait to grow up

And I did, quicker than most in many ways

As you reach the teen years you realise

It may not be all you had initially thought it was

But then you hit that magic age, 18, an adult at last!

You have a voice that is heard and a vote that counts

You no longer need that fake ID to buy smokes

You can legally club and drink all night long

You join the working masses

You have independence and there's no turning back

The "real world" isn't so magnificent

Work, bills and responsibilities slap you in the face

Over and over again

You find out just how much, or how little

Growing up really happened in all those years

Then the cycle begins again with a new generation

As a mother now I find myself desperately trying

Trying not to make the same mistakes as my mother

Trying not to make too many new mistakes

Trying to hold onto my son's childhood

How do we know when we're getting it right

Do we only find out when they've grown up