I think the best sentence of my adulthood so far is, “Yeah, I’m not going to do that!” Seriously, it’s a game-changer. Over the last few months, coffee was my lifeline. Juggling a full-time job, being a full-time mom, trying to be a good friend (though I’ve seriously been dropping the ball on that lately), and squeezing in a little home improvement here and there, has sucked up every last minute of my day. RIP photography course, piano lessons, and any chance of a spontaneous holiday. I’ll admit it: I’m a terrible planner. I make shopping lists and still manage to forget them at home. I download budget apps, but somehow, I still get that lovely “Oh crap, I forgot to pay that speed fine” reminder.Speaking of speed fines… since moving to a new town, I’ve unintentionally crowned myself Queen of Speeding. Within a few days, I accumulated enough fines to buy three decent pairs of shoes. Yep, I definitely need to slow down.

Here’s the thing: Between Wednesday and Friday, the days drag like a snail on vacation. But Sunday always seems to sneak up, slapping me right in the face. This weekend? Oh, I planned to sleep so late I’d wake up with puffy eyes, scarf down some food, and then go back to sleep. But nope, my daughter’s social life has apparently surpassed mine, which means I’m her chauffeur. And just like that, my sleep-in plans are history. Ah, the joys of adulthood!

But here’s where it gets interesting. This year, I’ve decided that this is the year I’ll start planning my time better. Don’t laugh! I will. It’s still January, I’ve got plenty of time to make it happen. I’ve already kicked off the year by running (which I swear I’ll keep up) and drinking wine again. The next step? Actually paying my speed fines on time (maybe even avoiding new ones). Oh, and remembering to read more than just two pages of my book before passing out. Remember those glorious nights of reading until 3 a.m.? Yeah, those. And I’ll work on not having just a cracker for breakfast (although, let’s be honest, waking up earlier for a proper breakfast might be a stretch). So, maybe the crackers aren’t such a tragedy after all!

It’s a real shame there’s no manual on how to survive adulthood. Thank goodness for coffee and wine! Though spilling wine as an adult is the equivalent of dropping your ice cream as a kid — a true tragedy. And don’t even get me started on the fact that, no matter how much time I spent learning them in school, the Pythagorean Theorem and Fermat’s Last Theorem are never, ever going to come up in my life again. Nope, not even once.

So, here’s to adulthood — still the most thrilling (and confusing) ride of them all!

Adulthood was never better, folks!