Do we ever really grow up?

Recently I reconnected with a childhood friend via a social networking site. This boy and I were friends up until the age of 9 when we parted company to live in different suburbs. We were the best of friends; we even shared our first kiss. We had that kind of relationship that if we were in a movie we would have grown old together and died holding hands. We found each other and had a little chat, and we've remained online friends. Occasionally I feel this desire to reach out, throw the old "let's meet up for a bite to eat" at him, but then I wonder, would we have anything in common anymore? It's been more than 15 years since we've spent any time together, we grew up, and our lives took different paths! Once you get past the update, what would do you have to talk about?

This made me wonder, do we ever really grow up or are we the same people we were back then? I remember being about 7 and hiding in mums kitchen eating milo from the tin. Two nights ago I found myself standing in my kitchen, knuckle deep in a jar of nutella...

I remember being about 8 years old and doing this little f*** you dance that involved flipping the bird at a girl at school, and sadly enough, I still enjoy flipping the bird accompanied by a little song...

I remember being 9 and putting on a brand new outfit and pair of shoes, feeling a million dollars, strutting my stuff down the street to show it off, there was no greater feeling in the world! And today, I still feel that a new item of clothing is the best way to feel good about yourself...

I remember being scared of the dark, my overactive imagination hearing sounds that no one else heard, seeing things no one else saw. Last week I was standing in my son’s room when I swore I heard a woman’s voice, it frightened me so much that later when I had to walk up there in the dark I was almost shaking, thinking someone must be hiding somewhere... turn the lights on!

When I consider these examples, I feel like I haven’t changed at all! So I grew boobs and hips, so I went to University, bought property, got hitched and made babies, at the end of the day I truly still am that 9 year old girly girl who occasionally has tomboy outbursts, a sugar addict with an irrational fear of the dark.
I think sometimes we complicate things instead of just accepting the simplicity. This boy and I once had a great connection, there was something about ‘us’ that we enjoyed, it’s as simple as that. But truly, if I worked hard at re-connecting with every person I once shared something with, I would never have time for my family, for myself, for the friends I have today... I think it comes back to my previous post, perhaps we really do have expiration dates.