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读到这篇文章的时候，小编脑子里一直转悠着编辑部一小姑娘的MSN签名：已经奔三了，但我还没二够……
是啊，长大是件多么残忍的事，年纪大了就老了，成熟了，就被剥夺了装萌、甩酷、任性、撒野、不负责任，甚至是赖床的权利。更为可怕的是还要面对供楼养车、结婚生子、养家糊口和照顾老人等种种棘手的问题。面对如今经济低迷、高房价、高物价、高医疗费等等的恶劣社会条件，哪个年轻人不是压力山大？哪个年轻人不希望自己长不大？于是，世界各国的70后80后像是约定好了似的，积极响应我们国家的号召，晚婚晚育，甚至不婚不育，不买车不买楼，甚至不为未来作打算。然而，岁月是残酷的，无论我们如何说服自己还没到迫不得已的时候，但该面对的问题，该挑起的责任还是会最终落到我们肩膀上。
年轻的你，打算面对现实，负起责任了吗？还是再等一等？？
——Weiji
The other day I had lunch with my father. He took me to his favourite pub and somewhere between the tomato soup and the mains he started a conversation that he has, until now—1)miraculously—avoided.
He glanced nervously at the waiter and sank his glass of wine before launching in, asking me what my plans are for life: Did I see myself settling down and starting a family? Am I saving up to buy a house? What is going to be the next step in my career?
There was a pause as I looked at him blankly and 2)shrugged, before 3)muttering that 4)immortal phrase, loved by teenagers across the land: “I dunno.”
Except I’m not a teenager. I am 34.
前几天，我和父亲共进晚餐。他带我去他最爱的餐馆。在喝完西红柿汤，等着上主菜的空档，父亲主动和我谈起了一个他迄今为止——出乎意料地——一直回避，不曾和我谈及的话题。
他不安地瞥了侍者一眼，在切入话题前把他那杯酒喝光，然后问我对于自己人生的规划是什么：我是不是打算安定下来，开始建立自己的家庭？我是不是正存钱买房子呢？我对事业的下一步规划是什么呢？
我们彼此之间停顿了一会儿，我茫然地看着他，然后耸耸肩，嘀咕着说出那句为全国青少年大爱的不朽名句：“我不知道。”
但我不是个青少年，我已经34岁了。
“Don’t you think you should start thinking about these things?” he asked. “You do know you’re not 20 any more, don’t you?”
I’m not sure that I do.
Though I had always 5)assumed that, by now, I would have found the love of my life and settled down, by choice or by fate (I still don’t know which) that hasn’t happened.
As a result, I behave in much the same way I did ten years ago, spending my money today rather than putting it aside for the future.
The thought of saving up the 6)deposit for a flat is so 7)daunting that I choose to throw money away on rent, instead.
I haven’t yet had to grow up so, well, I haven’t.
8)Reckless, irresponsible and 9)immature? Yes. But at least I can take comfort in the fact I am not alone.
Last week, I read that there is even a name for people such as me. We are the “10)Peter Pan generation”; a sizeable group of 25 to 40-year-olds who exist in a state of extended 11)adolescence, avoiding the trappings of responsibility—marriage, 12)mortgage, children—for as long as possible.
“Our society is full of lost boys and girls hanging out at the edge of adulthood,” says Professor Frank Furedi, a 13)sociologist who has been studying this phenomenon, at the University of Kent.
These people, he says, might live with their parents until they are in their 30s, choose to put off getting married as long as they can—or even remain single well into adulthood, continuing the life they had in their early 20s.
“难道你不觉得自己应该开始考虑这些事情了吗？”他问道。“你知道你已经不是20岁了，是吧？”
我不确定。
即使我一直认为，到了现在这个年纪，我总该已找到生命中的爱人，并安定下来，但是无论是出于自己的选择还是由于命中注定（我仍然不知道是哪一个），这都没有发生。
结果，我现在的表现和十年前几乎是一样的——今天有钱就今天花光，而不是为了将来把钱存起来。
存够首期买房子这个想法实在是令人却步，所以我选择把钱花在租房上。
我还没有到不得不长大的时候，所以，嗯，还没有。
不顾后果，不负责任和不成熟？是的。但聊以慰藉的是，至少我并不是唯一的一个。
上个星期，我阅读时得知，像我这样的人群，甚至还有一个名称。我们被称为“彼得·潘一代”；一个年龄介乎25到40岁之间的数量相当大的群体，这部分人继续以青春期的状态生活着，尽可能长时间地回避标志着责任的“行头”——婚姻、房贷和孩子。
“我们的社会充满了这样徘徊在成年边缘上的迷失少男少女，”肯特大学的社会学家弗兰克·弗兰迪教授说道，他一直在研究此现象。
这些人，他表示，可能三十多岁还和父母住在一起，选择尽可能地推迟结婚——或者甚至成年已久也继续维持单身，延续着他们二十多岁时的生活状态。
Blessed is the season which engages(使从事于) the whole world in a conspiracy(谋略) of love.
—Hamilton Wright Mabie
You only need to look at the statistics to observe this 14)intriguing trend.
Back in 1970, men typically got married at 24 and women at 22. Currently, the average age at which people marry, is 32 for men and 30 for women.
Meanwhile, the average age for starting a family today is 28 for women, up from 24 in 1970. And, thanks to 15)IVF and fertility treatment, more and more women are delaying starting families until they are 40.
What’s more, many more of us are deciding not to marry at all. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics at the end of last year show that more than half of women under 50 have never been married—double the figure recorded 30 years ago.
So why has all this come about? Why are the lives of my generation so utterly different from those of our parents?
Well, you could blame the economy. Taking that first step of becoming an adult—buying a house—is harder than ever. Every day we see new headlines about adults having to move back home with their parents to save the sizeable deposits now needed to buy a 16)property.
My parents are not in a position to help me financially, and I find the task of saving for a deposit to buy a flat so 17)onerous, and the reality of what and where I could afford to buy so depressing, that I’ve made the (very childish) decision to not even think about it.
Which may hint at the real problem. Professor Furedi, who is in his 60s, says we cannot blame the economy—or property prices—for what he calls the “infantalisation” of today’s adults.
对于这个有趣的趋势，你单是看数据就可见一斑了。
回顾1970年时，男性一般在24岁结婚，而女性一般在22岁结婚。如今，男性结婚的平均年龄是32岁，而女性是30岁。
与此同时，现今女性建立家庭的平均年龄从1970年的24岁上升到了28岁。而且，因为有了试管受精和生育治疗，越来越多的女性等到40岁的时候才开始建立家庭。
不光如此，我们当中更多的人决定根本就不结婚。英国国家统计局去年年末发布的数据显示，50岁以下的女性有超过一半的人从未结婚——这是三十年前数据的两倍。
那么为什么会出现这样的情况呢？为什么我们这一代人的生活和父母亲那一代的如此截然不同呢？
嗯，你可以归咎于经济。迈出成年的第一步——买房——比以往任何时候都困难。我们每天都看到这样的头条，说成年人不得不搬回父母的家，以省下买房所需的大笔首期存款。
我的双亲在经济上无法给我资助，而我发现存钱买房的任务是那么沉重，凭什么去买以及在哪儿买的现实问题又是那么的令人沮丧，所以我做了一个很幼稚的决定：想都不去想买房的事。
这可能正暗示了真正的问题。六十多岁的弗兰迪教授说，我们不能将这个存在于如今的成年人身上，他称之为“婴儿化”的问题归咎于经济——或者房价。
He believes there are much bigger 18)psychological factors at play—and that the root of our refusal to grow up is fear.
“People are scared of thinking of themselves as adults. They cannot see anything good that comes with being an adult; all our cultural values are with youth and the further we move away from that, the more anxious we become,” he says.
He believes that the trend for adults to read books aimed at children and teenagers (such as Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Twilight), the popularity of cartoons such as The Simpsons, and the rise of adults playing computer games, are 19)symptoms of this desire to escape adulthood.
This can apply to leaving home—or even falling in love. “People now avoid or postpone thinking about making a 20)commitment to others for fear they will get hurt,” Furedi adds.
他认为那是由更为严重的心理因素所导致的——我们拒绝长大的根源在于恐惧。
“人们害怕把自己看作是成年人。他们看不见成为成年人随之而来有任何好处；我们所有的文化价值都来自于年轻，我们离年轻越远，就越焦虑，”他说道。
他认为，成年人阅读针对儿童和青少年的书籍（诸如《哈利·波特》、《饥饿游戏》和《暮光之城》）的趋势、卡通动画（诸如《辛普森一家》）的流行，以及成年人玩电脑游戏的兴起，都是渴望逃避成人期的症状。
这一理论也适用于离家——或者甚至是恋爱。“人们如今避免或者迟迟不去考虑向别人作出承诺，因为他们害怕会受伤害，” 弗兰迪补充道。
The holiest(虔诚的) of holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart. The secret anniversaries(周年纪念) of the heart. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
So am I scared of being a fully-functioning adult? Scared of financial and romantic commitments?
Maybe, although I think it’s more the case that I have convinced myself that I don’t need to grow up—or settle down—just yet.
While my parents’ generation went straight from education to working and starting a family, all in their early 20s, we have a window of opportunity that means we can play around for a bit longer.
We went to university and were told there was nothing in the world we couldn’t do. We rose the career ladder, travelled the world and had a freedom they could only imagine.
We were—and still are—spoilt for choice. And many people would argue that this is not a good thing.
Another more recent report, from Greenwich University researcher Oliver Robinson, found that the “demanding nature” of 20 and 30-somethings means we “are not happy with a 21)mediocre, 22)ploddy, conventional life”—in other words, the kind of life we think our parents have.
But we’re not that happy with our freedom either.
Actually, the decisions on whether to marry or not marry, start a family or not, travel or 23)stay put, stick in your existing job or find a new one can make us 24)overwhelmed, anxious and depressed.
Of course, there is one decision that a woman—even of the Peter Pan variety—cannot put off for ever, and that is whether or not to have a child.
那么，我害怕成为一个尽职尽责的成年人吗？我是害怕物质上的和爱情上的承诺吗？
或许吧，尽管我认为更可能的是我深信自己还不需要长大或者安定下来。
我父母亲那一辈的所有人在二十出头的时候，读完书出来就成家立业了，而我们则拥有一扇机会之窗，这意味着我们可以胡闹多一阵子。
我们上了大学并被告知，这世上没我们做不到的事。我们爬上职业的阶梯，环游世界并且拥有父辈只能想象的自由。
我们过去是——现在也是——选择多不胜数。很多人会认为这并不是件好事。
来自格林威治大学研究员奥利弗·罗宾逊的另一份较新的报告发现，二十多岁、三十多岁的人所怀有的“苛求的本性”，意味着我们“并不满足于平庸、枯燥、一成不变的生活”——换句话说，也就是那种我们认为我们父母们拥有的生活。
但是我们对自己所拥有的自由并不感到满意。
实际上，结婚与否，建立家庭与否，旅游还是安定下来，维持目前的工作还是找一份新工作，要做出这些决定会使我们感到不知所措、焦虑和沮丧。
当然，有一个决择是：女人——即使是属于彼得·潘这一类的——不能够总是推迟的，那就是生孩子与否。
For years, I was too busy working and having fun to even think about it—and now, even at 34, I have no idea if I want to be a mother. No maternal urges have kicked in yet and, besides, there is not exactly a line of 25)suitors waiting at my door.
26)Either way, I fool myself into thinking that I don’t have to decide just yet and 27)cling to any headline about women having their children at 41 and 42 as proof that, yes, there is plenty of time.
I talk about these issues with my fellow, eternally young friends, but I’ve noticed, recently, that we are fewer in number than we once were.
For while I have a handful of friends who, like me, are still busy living for the now, there are many more who have, almost without me noticing, found ways to buy the house and start a family.
They are very happy in their new phase of their life, while I am still clinging on to the old one.
It reminds me of another less than 28)flattering 29)soubriquet for women such as me—TWIT(Teenage Women in their Thirties).
Apparently, we’re 30)propping up bars across the country, hoping the dim light 31)disguises our wrinkles and that our 32)Topshop outfits help us to blend in with the 20-somethings around us. And that’s a very sad thought. Perhaps it is time to finally grow up.
Maybe after the summer...
这么多年以来，我太忙于工作和太热衷于享乐，以至于想都没想——现在，即使34岁了，我仍然不知道自己想不想成为一位母亲。没有萌生母性的冲动，此外，门前也并没有一列队的追求者。
不管怎样，我自欺欺人地想着自己现在还无需急于做决定，就爱看到那些新闻标题说某某女性在41岁和42岁时生孩子，以之为据，来证明：是的，我还有充足的时间。
我和我那些永远年轻的同伴朋友谈论这些问题，但是我注意到，最近，我们这个群体人数比以往少了。
因为尽管有一部分朋友像我一样，仍然忙于活在当下，但是有更大一部分的朋友，几乎是在没知会我的情况下，买了房子，开始建立家庭。
他们在生命的新阶段里很幸福，而我仍然执着于原来的生活方式。
这使我想起了另一个形容像我这样的女性的称呼——不是太好听的绰号——TWIT （三十多岁的少女）。
显然，我们正维持着泡在遍布各地的酒吧里的状况，希望微弱的光线能掩饰我们的皱纹，拓扑肖普的衣装有助我们融入身旁的那些二十多岁的年轻人之中。这是一个十分悲催的想法。或许该是要长大的时候了。
又或许，等过完这个夏天之后吧……
The grand essentials(要素) of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to
hope for. —Allan K. Chalmers
是啊，长大是件多么残忍的事，年纪大了就老了，成熟了，就被剥夺了装萌、甩酷、任性、撒野、不负责任，甚至是赖床的权利。更为可怕的是还要面对供楼养车、结婚生子、养家糊口和照顾老人等种种棘手的问题。面对如今经济低迷、高房价、高物价、高医疗费等等的恶劣社会条件，哪个年轻人不是压力山大？哪个年轻人不希望自己长不大？于是，世界各国的70后80后像是约定好了似的，积极响应我们国家的号召，晚婚晚育，甚至不婚不育，不买车不买楼，甚至不为未来作打算。然而，岁月是残酷的，无论我们如何说服自己还没到迫不得已的时候，但该面对的问题，该挑起的责任还是会最终落到我们肩膀上。
年轻的你，打算面对现实，负起责任了吗？还是再等一等？？
——Weiji
The other day I had lunch with my father. He took me to his favourite pub and somewhere between the tomato soup and the mains he started a conversation that he has, until now—1)miraculously—avoided.
He glanced nervously at the waiter and sank his glass of wine before launching in, asking me what my plans are for life: Did I see myself settling down and starting a family? Am I saving up to buy a house? What is going to be the next step in my career?
There was a pause as I looked at him blankly and 2)shrugged, before 3)muttering that 4)immortal phrase, loved by teenagers across the land: “I dunno.”
Except I’m not a teenager. I am 34.
前几天，我和父亲共进晚餐。他带我去他最爱的餐馆。在喝完西红柿汤，等着上主菜的空档，父亲主动和我谈起了一个他迄今为止——出乎意料地——一直回避，不曾和我谈及的话题。
他不安地瞥了侍者一眼，在切入话题前把他那杯酒喝光，然后问我对于自己人生的规划是什么：我是不是打算安定下来，开始建立自己的家庭？我是不是正存钱买房子呢？我对事业的下一步规划是什么呢？
我们彼此之间停顿了一会儿，我茫然地看着他，然后耸耸肩，嘀咕着说出那句为全国青少年大爱的不朽名句：“我不知道。”
但我不是个青少年，我已经34岁了。
“Don’t you think you should start thinking about these things?” he asked. “You do know you’re not 20 any more, don’t you?”
I’m not sure that I do.
Though I had always 5)assumed that, by now, I would have found the love of my life and settled down, by choice or by fate (I still don’t know which) that hasn’t happened.
As a result, I behave in much the same way I did ten years ago, spending my money today rather than putting it aside for the future.
The thought of saving up the 6)deposit for a flat is so 7)daunting that I choose to throw money away on rent, instead.
I haven’t yet had to grow up so, well, I haven’t.
8)Reckless, irresponsible and 9)immature? Yes. But at least I can take comfort in the fact I am not alone.
Last week, I read that there is even a name for people such as me. We are the “10)Peter Pan generation”; a sizeable group of 25 to 40-year-olds who exist in a state of extended 11)adolescence, avoiding the trappings of responsibility—marriage, 12)mortgage, children—for as long as possible.
“Our society is full of lost boys and girls hanging out at the edge of adulthood,” says Professor Frank Furedi, a 13)sociologist who has been studying this phenomenon, at the University of Kent.
These people, he says, might live with their parents until they are in their 30s, choose to put off getting married as long as they can—or even remain single well into adulthood, continuing the life they had in their early 20s.
“难道你不觉得自己应该开始考虑这些事情了吗？”他问道。“你知道你已经不是20岁了，是吧？”
我不确定。
即使我一直认为，到了现在这个年纪，我总该已找到生命中的爱人，并安定下来，但是无论是出于自己的选择还是由于命中注定（我仍然不知道是哪一个），这都没有发生。
结果，我现在的表现和十年前几乎是一样的——今天有钱就今天花光，而不是为了将来把钱存起来。
存够首期买房子这个想法实在是令人却步，所以我选择把钱花在租房上。
我还没有到不得不长大的时候，所以，嗯，还没有。
不顾后果，不负责任和不成熟？是的。但聊以慰藉的是，至少我并不是唯一的一个。
上个星期，我阅读时得知，像我这样的人群，甚至还有一个名称。我们被称为“彼得·潘一代”；一个年龄介乎25到40岁之间的数量相当大的群体，这部分人继续以青春期的状态生活着，尽可能长时间地回避标志着责任的“行头”——婚姻、房贷和孩子。
“我们的社会充满了这样徘徊在成年边缘上的迷失少男少女，”肯特大学的社会学家弗兰克·弗兰迪教授说道，他一直在研究此现象。
这些人，他表示，可能三十多岁还和父母住在一起，选择尽可能地推迟结婚——或者甚至成年已久也继续维持单身，延续着他们二十多岁时的生活状态。
Blessed is the season which engages(使从事于) the whole world in a conspiracy(谋略) of love.
—Hamilton Wright Mabie
You only need to look at the statistics to observe this 14)intriguing trend.
Back in 1970, men typically got married at 24 and women at 22. Currently, the average age at which people marry, is 32 for men and 30 for women.
Meanwhile, the average age for starting a family today is 28 for women, up from 24 in 1970. And, thanks to 15)IVF and fertility treatment, more and more women are delaying starting families until they are 40.
What’s more, many more of us are deciding not to marry at all. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics at the end of last year show that more than half of women under 50 have never been married—double the figure recorded 30 years ago.
So why has all this come about? Why are the lives of my generation so utterly different from those of our parents?
Well, you could blame the economy. Taking that first step of becoming an adult—buying a house—is harder than ever. Every day we see new headlines about adults having to move back home with their parents to save the sizeable deposits now needed to buy a 16)property.
My parents are not in a position to help me financially, and I find the task of saving for a deposit to buy a flat so 17)onerous, and the reality of what and where I could afford to buy so depressing, that I’ve made the (very childish) decision to not even think about it.
Which may hint at the real problem. Professor Furedi, who is in his 60s, says we cannot blame the economy—or property prices—for what he calls the “infantalisation” of today’s adults.
对于这个有趣的趋势，你单是看数据就可见一斑了。
回顾1970年时，男性一般在24岁结婚，而女性一般在22岁结婚。如今，男性结婚的平均年龄是32岁，而女性是30岁。
与此同时，现今女性建立家庭的平均年龄从1970年的24岁上升到了28岁。而且，因为有了试管受精和生育治疗，越来越多的女性等到40岁的时候才开始建立家庭。
不光如此，我们当中更多的人决定根本就不结婚。英国国家统计局去年年末发布的数据显示，50岁以下的女性有超过一半的人从未结婚——这是三十年前数据的两倍。
那么为什么会出现这样的情况呢？为什么我们这一代人的生活和父母亲那一代的如此截然不同呢？
嗯，你可以归咎于经济。迈出成年的第一步——买房——比以往任何时候都困难。我们每天都看到这样的头条，说成年人不得不搬回父母的家，以省下买房所需的大笔首期存款。
我的双亲在经济上无法给我资助，而我发现存钱买房的任务是那么沉重，凭什么去买以及在哪儿买的现实问题又是那么的令人沮丧，所以我做了一个很幼稚的决定：想都不去想买房的事。
这可能正暗示了真正的问题。六十多岁的弗兰迪教授说，我们不能将这个存在于如今的成年人身上，他称之为“婴儿化”的问题归咎于经济——或者房价。
He believes there are much bigger 18)psychological factors at play—and that the root of our refusal to grow up is fear.
“People are scared of thinking of themselves as adults. They cannot see anything good that comes with being an adult; all our cultural values are with youth and the further we move away from that, the more anxious we become,” he says.
He believes that the trend for adults to read books aimed at children and teenagers (such as Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Twilight), the popularity of cartoons such as The Simpsons, and the rise of adults playing computer games, are 19)symptoms of this desire to escape adulthood.
This can apply to leaving home—or even falling in love. “People now avoid or postpone thinking about making a 20)commitment to others for fear they will get hurt,” Furedi adds.
他认为那是由更为严重的心理因素所导致的——我们拒绝长大的根源在于恐惧。
“人们害怕把自己看作是成年人。他们看不见成为成年人随之而来有任何好处；我们所有的文化价值都来自于年轻，我们离年轻越远，就越焦虑，”他说道。
他认为，成年人阅读针对儿童和青少年的书籍（诸如《哈利·波特》、《饥饿游戏》和《暮光之城》）的趋势、卡通动画（诸如《辛普森一家》）的流行，以及成年人玩电脑游戏的兴起，都是渴望逃避成人期的症状。
这一理论也适用于离家——或者甚至是恋爱。“人们如今避免或者迟迟不去考虑向别人作出承诺，因为他们害怕会受伤害，” 弗兰迪补充道。
The holiest(虔诚的) of holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart. The secret anniversaries(周年纪念) of the heart. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
So am I scared of being a fully-functioning adult? Scared of financial and romantic commitments?
Maybe, although I think it’s more the case that I have convinced myself that I don’t need to grow up—or settle down—just yet.
While my parents’ generation went straight from education to working and starting a family, all in their early 20s, we have a window of opportunity that means we can play around for a bit longer.
We went to university and were told there was nothing in the world we couldn’t do. We rose the career ladder, travelled the world and had a freedom they could only imagine.
We were—and still are—spoilt for choice. And many people would argue that this is not a good thing.
Another more recent report, from Greenwich University researcher Oliver Robinson, found that the “demanding nature” of 20 and 30-somethings means we “are not happy with a 21)mediocre, 22)ploddy, conventional life”—in other words, the kind of life we think our parents have.
But we’re not that happy with our freedom either.
Actually, the decisions on whether to marry or not marry, start a family or not, travel or 23)stay put, stick in your existing job or find a new one can make us 24)overwhelmed, anxious and depressed.
Of course, there is one decision that a woman—even of the Peter Pan variety—cannot put off for ever, and that is whether or not to have a child.
那么，我害怕成为一个尽职尽责的成年人吗？我是害怕物质上的和爱情上的承诺吗？
或许吧，尽管我认为更可能的是我深信自己还不需要长大或者安定下来。
我父母亲那一辈的所有人在二十出头的时候，读完书出来就成家立业了，而我们则拥有一扇机会之窗，这意味着我们可以胡闹多一阵子。
我们上了大学并被告知，这世上没我们做不到的事。我们爬上职业的阶梯，环游世界并且拥有父辈只能想象的自由。
我们过去是——现在也是——选择多不胜数。很多人会认为这并不是件好事。
来自格林威治大学研究员奥利弗·罗宾逊的另一份较新的报告发现，二十多岁、三十多岁的人所怀有的“苛求的本性”，意味着我们“并不满足于平庸、枯燥、一成不变的生活”——换句话说，也就是那种我们认为我们父母们拥有的生活。
但是我们对自己所拥有的自由并不感到满意。
实际上，结婚与否，建立家庭与否，旅游还是安定下来，维持目前的工作还是找一份新工作，要做出这些决定会使我们感到不知所措、焦虑和沮丧。
当然，有一个决择是：女人——即使是属于彼得·潘这一类的——不能够总是推迟的，那就是生孩子与否。
For years, I was too busy working and having fun to even think about it—and now, even at 34, I have no idea if I want to be a mother. No maternal urges have kicked in yet and, besides, there is not exactly a line of 25)suitors waiting at my door.
26)Either way, I fool myself into thinking that I don’t have to decide just yet and 27)cling to any headline about women having their children at 41 and 42 as proof that, yes, there is plenty of time.
I talk about these issues with my fellow, eternally young friends, but I’ve noticed, recently, that we are fewer in number than we once were.
For while I have a handful of friends who, like me, are still busy living for the now, there are many more who have, almost without me noticing, found ways to buy the house and start a family.
They are very happy in their new phase of their life, while I am still clinging on to the old one.
It reminds me of another less than 28)flattering 29)soubriquet for women such as me—TWIT(Teenage Women in their Thirties).
Apparently, we’re 30)propping up bars across the country, hoping the dim light 31)disguises our wrinkles and that our 32)Topshop outfits help us to blend in with the 20-somethings around us. And that’s a very sad thought. Perhaps it is time to finally grow up.
Maybe after the summer...
这么多年以来，我太忙于工作和太热衷于享乐，以至于想都没想——现在，即使34岁了，我仍然不知道自己想不想成为一位母亲。没有萌生母性的冲动，此外，门前也并没有一列队的追求者。
不管怎样，我自欺欺人地想着自己现在还无需急于做决定，就爱看到那些新闻标题说某某女性在41岁和42岁时生孩子，以之为据，来证明：是的，我还有充足的时间。
我和我那些永远年轻的同伴朋友谈论这些问题，但是我注意到，最近，我们这个群体人数比以往少了。
因为尽管有一部分朋友像我一样，仍然忙于活在当下，但是有更大一部分的朋友，几乎是在没知会我的情况下，买了房子，开始建立家庭。
他们在生命的新阶段里很幸福，而我仍然执着于原来的生活方式。
这使我想起了另一个形容像我这样的女性的称呼——不是太好听的绰号——TWIT （三十多岁的少女）。
显然，我们正维持着泡在遍布各地的酒吧里的状况，希望微弱的光线能掩饰我们的皱纹，拓扑肖普的衣装有助我们融入身旁的那些二十多岁的年轻人之中。这是一个十分悲催的想法。或许该是要长大的时候了。
又或许，等过完这个夏天之后吧……
The grand essentials(要素) of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to
hope for. —Allan K. Chalmers