by Douglas DeBono, 2006

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT StandingOrders.BlogSpot.Com, February 24, 2006

I was introduced to a new term in Sunday School (of course no one calls it Sunday School anymore, the event has morphed into Adult Bible Fellowships).

Anyway, there is a new crisis on the horizon called Quarterlifer Crisis. I suppose this is similar to the mid-life crisis except for the teen age/young adult crowd, and I guess this is different from the Social Security Crisis for the blue haired folks.

I remember the mid-life crisis pretty well. Basically it was an excuse for men to cast off all their responsibilities (you know--the wife, kids, college tuition and being a grown up), run off with the secretary, and act like a spoiled brat. Then there was the redemption phase, where the schmuck returned with hat in hand and begged forgiveness.

It made for great radio, marvelous theater, and for a while, I thought it was eclusively a born again, evangelical thing until I discovered that we (i.e. the born again Bible thumpers) had Christianized the problem.

So I listened to the Quarterlifer dilemma, and it sounded a lot like growing up. Yeah I remember those times. I got married at 21, and I realized that I barely knew how to take care of myself much less my wonderful bride.

I learned something from those days. Back then I had $200 in the bank, one car that worked, and a bad economy thanks to Jimmy Carter. I made bad decisions, lost money, lost a job and got it back. I survived, because there was no way to go but forward.

If you think I'm heartless, you're wrong. My Bride and I have poured our lives into our kids. We have done everything to help them be successful, but in the final analysis it is up to them to make the most of their opportunities. This smells like another phony crisis that provides an excuse for failure. Life isn't always easy, but it is a great journey and sometime you just have to hang on.