Being a grown-up means no homework

All around me students are wildly studying for final exams and wrapping up end-of-year projects. If anybody should ask me the best part about being a grown-up, my answer is immediate. No more tests, no more homework.
Forty years later, I have been known to just smile when it occurs to me that I don’t have to do any homework — although I think paying bills almost qualifies.
No, I am not a high-school dropout. I always tested well. I am just something of an underachiever who lacks the necessary top-dog spirit. I loved every minute of my five years of college, but of course there is so much more to love about college than studying, now isn’t there.
The minute graduation came, I never looked back. My self-composed graduation announcement read something like, “Please join me at graduation ceremonies at San Diego State University, as I scatter old term papers and tests in my path.”
I marvel at the academics who thrive on endless lectures and producing ponderous research papers. They have my admiration, but their love of the learning curve is so foreign to me, I rather fancy we are from different planets.
I have not stopped learning, so don’t start with me. I do, however, still struggle with the unspoken promise that by the time you turn 40, you know everything and can just rest on your laurels. I can’t tell you exactly who made me this promise, but if I ever remember, they are in such trouble.
I prefer to absorb my knowledge without having to prove I remember it or that I can cite my source. You’ll just have to take my word for it. The greatest thing about being a mom was being unquestioned when I offered, “Because I say so, that’s why!”
And is there anything more delightful than going back for an extension class when your grade point average no longer matters? As the teacher drones on about “two tardies equal an absence and two absences will drop your grade a point….weekly quizzes count for 50 percent of your grade and…..” you sit back and grin because it just doesn’t matter anymore.
So I send my best wishes for straight As or at least a D in that one class you just have to pass. It will all be over soon enough and while real life is packed with pop quizzes, your future all-nighters will probably not involve books.