There?s one developmental stage that?s not covered in any parenting book. There?s no book, What to Expect: Your New Adult, but there is a universal milestone: the first time parent and child change roles. It might be the first time a son takes a parent out for a meal or when a daughter insists on driving because she?s better at it. It can happen anywhere?the adult-child?s neighbourhood, the grocery store, a different city. It?s that split second where both child and adult know things are different and it?s a natural progression that happens to us all sooner or later.
It happened to me when I was in my mid-twenties. (I?m a late bloomer.) I?d moved to New York, into a tiny tenement sublet with a great view of the building next door?s brick wall. When my mom and dad visited, for the first time we didn?t fall back into our usual parent-child roles. I showed them around my downtown neighbourhood, walked with them through Chinatown and, like an expert, led them around on the subway. Back in my microscopic apartment, I cooked them what I hoped was a gourmet meal of duck confit and haricot verts. As I poured cheap red wine into chipped mugs, for the first time I saw a different side of them?freer, more relaxed, and giggly. It may have been the wine. Still, I felt impossibly mature.
.related-article-block{display:inline-block;width:300px;padding:0.5rem;margin-left:0.5rem;float:right;border:1px solid #ccc}@media (max-width: 525px){.related-article-block{float:none;display:block;wi...