I Still Feel Like a Kid Playing Dress Up

I'm trying so hard to be conscientious about sending thank you notes for graduation gifts promptly, especially since I know that if I put it off, I will promptly forget it. Until my mother calls to ask me why I haven't sent a thank you note to Aunt Jean/ the Smiths/my church. And then I'll feel both guilty and embarrassed because what kind of person just accepts a gift without any thank you? A greedy, ungrateful person, that's who. And my momma didn't raise a greedy, ungrateful brat.

And it's funny, but I'm noticing that I still cannot call an adult who is older than I by first name.

Not even in a letter! And this includes people who I call by first name in person. What is up with that? I mean, yeah, as a child, we addressed adults other than family members or very, very close family friends by Mr. (or Mrs.) Lastname. NEVER by first name. But I am thirty years old. Older than some of the adults I used to call Mr./ Mrs. Lastname were at the time. Younger children occasionally call me "Miss Mylastname" (or "Mrs.", which usually makes my mother snicker-- which reminds me, I should totally tell the story about what my cousin said to me at Thanksgiving last year, if I didn't already tell it.), and I really should ought to be able to take my seat at the proverbial grown ups table.

Yet, here I am, agonizing over whether it's okay to address the salutation "Dear Mike and Barb", when Barb, who I have known my entire life-- literally!-- and who knows more of my deep secrets than my mother (though not nearly as many as Hulio!), has never once been addressed as "Mrs. Corbett" by any member of my family that I can recall. But you see, I've never met Mike, at least not that I can remember. Therefore, I am not "permitted" to address him by his given name.

Do you think I'll ever feel like a Real Grown Up?