from fine old kegs, from the brim to the dregs....

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

1 Corinthians 13:11

Wrong.  In my case, anyway.

I'm 37 now, and I caught myself wondering the other day if I would ever really be a grown-up.  My hair is falling out, I'm turning pretty grey (grey chest hair?  seriously? WTF?) and I like to have a good nap of an evening whilst sitting on the sofa in front of the telly.... I also own a house, have a proper (well, it's full-time) job and am legally considered a responsible enough adult to work with children - they actually gave me a certificate to prove it, as if they thought I might be challenged on that fact.

Do I consider myself to be a grown-up?  Mmmm.  Not really. 

Does anyone?  Do you?

I want to buy a Playstation 3.  I am going to buy a Playstation 3.  And most likely also various games that involve either hitting balls, finding treasure by solving fiendishly conceived puzzles in exotic locations around the world or wearing a cape and saving Gotham City. 

C. has just signed up for a degree course at the Open University to occupy her spare time; I'm thinking about dedicating that same spare time to going online to pretend to be a special forces soldier blowing up strangers in impressive ways using an arsenal of fearsome weaponry.  Hmm.  Maybe it's a man thing. 

Do you ever reach a point where you consider yourself too grown-up for these things?  Is it dignified that a man of nearly 40 years of age doesn't consider himself to have got there yet, and doesn't anticipate getting there any time soon? 

It's not that I especially care what you think of failure to put aside my childish ways, you understand.  I'm just curious if you feel the same.

Also, who wants to play FIFA, Call of Duty or Tiger Woods or something online with me? 

You can do that now, right?