As a child what was you looking forward to doing as an adult?

[dssonne]

And did it live up to your expectations?

Mine was the food shop. I used to go with my mum and wonder why she was filling the trolley with boring items when she could be buying ice cream and pizzas.

I couldn't wait till I could buy my own food.
Safe to say I soon realised it wasn't all that fun and planning weekly meals for 5 on a budget is a headache.

@dustibooks I hope life is good for you now.

I was going to have my own horse and a dog.

Did you know that horses are really expensive? And even know when I could definitely afford to buy and keep one there's no way I'm doing that!

Same with a dog, we absolutely don't have the lifestyle for one and I can understand why my parents always said no to our pleas.

I thought that when I was grown up I'd buy and eat a birthday cake every week. Alas, I do not do this and I now think that my mother was right, fondant icing is too sweet (a concept that I just didn't understand as a child).

I remember thinking that when I was a grown up if I lost or broke things it would be better because no one except me would care. I remember my dad saying I'd stop being so careless when I had to replace things myself - nope, I'm still scatty and clumsy and I actually do still think it's better to have to not have to fess up to it, even though it now means I pay.

I still feel very grown up every now and again when driving. I'm also always surprised when they just let me buy alcohol in a shop or pub, which is a bit delusional because I'm 33 now - but I always expect someone to say 'obviously you can't buy that, you're 15'.

@dustibooks - how did your life pan out after 18?

I used to look forward to my parents being dead because then I would be free.
They are not dead, and I am free and I ended up having a good relationship with them now they have no power over me.

I think I dreamed of wearing a power suit and heels to work - actually my worse nightmare as an adult, I wear jeans & trainers.

I really wanted a cat when I was young, and a dog which sleeps on my bed and is my constant shadow - got those and they are amazing!

driving! and i still love it/feel lucky about it!

I wanted lots of pets. I don't have any, as I've moved around lots and have always been in rented accommodation where pets are not allowed.
I'm hopefully going to buy a house later this year, and then I'm getting a cat. Maybe even two.

Having my own cat (it’s a bastard and hates me but I looooove him) and eating what I want (I’m now fat as fuck)

Having a snazzy office job where I wear pencil skirts, high heels and carry a briefcase. I achieved this (minus the briefcase!) But it's really not as fun as young me expected.

Carrying car keys. Even now I see my car keys and get a thrill that I'm a real grown up.

I hated being a kid too. I had no control over my life; I had to eat what I was given, go where I was instructed and do as I was told. Even though being an adult is way more expensive than young me thought I love having control of my own life.

I wanted to live by the seaside. I do, and I love it

Wearing heels all day, every day.

I had to wear the most boring, flat regulation school shoes for years and years.....

I was looking forward to having access to food and not being shouted at all day. It’s lived up to the hype, and I still love shopping for the food, cooking the food and providing lovely meals for my family.

Buying records. I had to save and save my pocket money to buy a single or an album from WH Smith (small town ) that I wanted but I once saw this woman just walk up, pick up some singles and pay for them. I couldn't wait until I could do that.

I couldn't wait to be grown up and independent, and mostly it hasn't disappointed! I agree with @BemidjiMinnesota about simply wanting control of my life, which you don't have as a child. Things I looked forward to were:

@LisaSimpsonsbff I agree about the (mostly) not having to own up to losing or breaking things. If I do have to do this as an adult, I still feel the childhood fear.

Not being talked down to by adults: I felt that some adults (such as shop staff) did this to children, simply because they were children.

Not being bullied. I know that adults aren't always free of this, but in my experience it happens much less when you are an adult, and you have the tools to deal with it, instead of the "just ignore them" I always heard as a child.

Having my own keys.

Being able to wear designer trainers, and without socks: I was forbidden to do both (until I was able to buy them myself). I have loads of them now, and wish I had more feet on which to wear them!

And a silly one: being the person who was in charge of party games, instead of taking part in them. I wanted to be the one who was blindfolding the guests and spinning them round so they could pin the tail. As a teenager, I did once get to do this, having declared myself as too old to pin the tail myself.

I told my Dad when he was old I was going to put him in a wheelchair and let him go, from the top of Rawmarsh Hill.

Rawmarsh Hill is steep and has a bend in it, he died at 58 so never got old.

I'm guessing he did something to annoy me.

Being listened to and taken seriously.

My family still doesn't do that. Thankfully the rest of the world does.

@ArriettyJones Thank you

@potter5 My father passed away when I was in my early teens, and then my mother had to go into hospital, so I was on my own in the house age 15 and coping fine, with access to money etc and getting myself to school. My bastard neighbour reported me to social services, and one day when I was visiting my mother in hospital a bitch of a social worker arrived with a police officer and they carted me off and stuck me in a care home 40 miles away. I wasn't allowed to try and contact anybody. It took me a week to be able to get in touch with a schoolfriend, whose parents kindly offered to take me in. I lived with them for several weeks until my DM came out of hospital.

My DM had a condition which could have returned, so until I was 18 I lived in fear of it happening again. I can't tell you the relief I felt on my 18th birthday.

I hate that social worker to this day.

dustibooks.

I really wanted not to have to attend school, then not to have to attend university. Or do the homework and exams. My career hasn’t turned out that well, but have nonetheless much preferred paid work to formal study.

DH hated being told to go to bed!

Funny how a lot revolves around eating. Mine was buying a box of chocolates and eating them all to myself. Couldn’t understand why my mum didn’t do that every day!??

Adopting all the animals at the end of pet rescue. I counted down the days until I was 18 ... in reality I have no pets at all!

Having a baby.

From the age of 3 I collected pictures of babies from magazines.

Having babies was the best thing ever! I'd love to spend a day with one of my DC being a baby again!

Also eating as much chocolate as I wanted. I fulfil this dream on a regular basis.

Mind was being able to look over the wall on a bridge we walked over!
That and having matching items such as matching curtains and bedding.

Having babies and taking them swimming. Me and my sister used to play this all the time.
Being a teacher. I still feel like I’m playing at it when I use the whiteboard!

Having my own home- I never did any chores as a kid so I hate maintaining it.

Having a job/own money- I'm a sahm now and rely on DP so really wish I'd known what I was getting in to with finances before having a child.