Old people complaining

finesse said:
My wife and I are both about to hit 73. I think it's your basic personality without the governors. She's always been a little temperamental, (I tell her 90% temper) and has gotten more critical as she's gotten older. I think I'm lucky to be alive and functional these days and don't have anything except the stupidity of the average person to complain about. Since that's the same as it ever was, I think I've mellowed.
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some half empty other half full
 
My dad, rest his soul, when anything went wrong would always say "You know that the worst I've ever had was wonderful!" Also "In spite of the cost living remains popular!"

Guess he instilled that attitude of gratitude into all of us kids.
 
I am a 70 yr old boomer I don't complain about all my 35-40 ish yr old family members-but I am perplexed about many of their careers. I don't even know what some of them do on their laptops at home-I feel badly for them that their employing companies-seem so unfocused on developing careers
On the other hand two of them are small business owners and seemingly have the same lives that small business owners have always had.
Now I do have one friend my age that just can't go out to eat without some "issue" about the food, the server, the airconditioning-something
 
I can no longer watch or talk to my dad (80 yo) about ball games now because of all the complaining he does. It starts from tipoff/kickoff and doesn't stop until he finds something else to complain about after the game has ended. And for the love of god, don't let it be a late tipoff/kickoff.

And yeah, we're all sports fans here and know that complaining about calls comes with being a fan, but this is something different. Like there is no way he could enjoy the games at all. He'll get so worked up that he'll start making stuff up about how many fouls/foul shots the opposing team has taken or how many penalties/yards have been called on the opposing team. It usually goes like this - Claim the refs have called 0 fouls/penalties on the opposing team early in the game when they clearly have. I mean, they flash the stats right on the tv screen- Then "that's the first" foul/penalty a little later. Again, stats are on the screen - And by the end, it's some conspiracy about the refs not liking his teams. And it's even like this when his teams win and shoot 20 more free throws, have 75 less penalty yads... And that pales in comparison to all the complaining about missed calls against his teams by the "crooked refs."
 
milom98 said:
I can no longer watch or talk to my dad (80 yo) about ball games now because of all the complaining he does. It starts from tipoff/kickoff and doesn't stop until he finds something else to complain about after the game has ended. And for the love of god, don't let it be a late tipoff/kickoff.

And yeah, we're all sports fans here and know that complaining about calls comes with being a fan, but this is something different. Like there is no way he could enjoy the games at all. He'll get so worked up that he'll start making stuff up about how many fouls/foul shots the opposing team has taken or how many penalties/yards have been called on the opposing team. It usually goes like this - Claim the refs have called 0 fouls/penalties on the opposing team early in the game when they clearly have. I mean, they flash the stats right on the tv screen- Then "that's the first" foul/penalty a little later. Again, stats are on the screen - And by the end, it's some conspiracy about the refs not liking his teams. And it's even like this when his teams win and shoot 20 more free throws, have 75 less penalty yads... And that pales in comparison to all the complaining about missed calls against his teams by the "crooked refs."
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This has nothing to do with age. I gave up participating in ZZL game threads years ago because they turn into constant whining about officiating or announcing. Who knew every basketball/football/baseball/soccer/lacrosse official hates UNC? Every announcer who isn’t part of the Tar Heel Sports Network is biased against UNC. It seems officiating and announcer bias are the topic more frequently that the actual game. One benefit of this board is there is less complaining about the complaining going on the IC sports board threads!
 
farce© said:
This has nothing to do with age. I gave up participating in ZZL game threads years ago because they turn into constant whining about officiating or announcing. Who knew every basketball/football/baseball/soccer/lacrosse official hates UNC? Every announcer who isn’t part of the Tar Heel Sports Network is biased against UNC. It seems officiating and announcer bias are the topic more frequently that the actual game. One benefit of this board is there is less complaining about the complaining going on the IC sports board threads!
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I would agree with you if not for the fact that it has got SO MUCH WORSE over the last few years. He use to sit pretty quietly when watching games, but he's basically a madman now. My mom hardly ever watches games with him anymore because of it and she never use to miss them. It's really bad and can't be healthy.

I've often wondered if his years of watching Fox News, now has him conditioned to engage with ballgames the same way he does with it (yelling at the TV). He definitely treats politics like a team sport and I could see him thinking his team are getting cheated.... by the deep state refs.
 
I'm an old guy but I almost never complain. However I don't like today's music. And today's young people are lazy and disrespectful. Most drivers are not paying attention- just looking at their cell phones. But let me drift out of my lane and they're blowing their horns like crazy. I don't like all that big carry on luggage at the airport. And I don't like threads like this that misrepresent us old folks as complainers.
 
I'm 43 going on 75

I find myself complaining all the time. I have to stop myself sometimes. The other day I told a friend that I think I'd just as soon complain as I would draw my next breath.
 
8992Tiger said:
I am 57 and think about this a good bit, and it comes up in conversations with my wife and others. Some thoughts:

I am pretty active in my church, and get to be around a number of 70+ dudes who are always cheerful, always in good humor and never complain about the younger generation. Those are my role models. They are growing old gracefully; they recognize the good in others and they realize that the world belongs to the young'uns. And they are funny as hell.

On the other hand, one of the guys I run with on the weekends likes to talk current events, and damn, I am sick and tired of statements that begin with, "In this day and age..." What usually follows is a complaint about lazy people, gay or trans, oppression of "Christian values", etc. He is gonna be a grumpy old man. (Yes, he's a Trumpy.) My takeaway is that while our attitudes affect the words we use, the words we use also affect our attitudes, so I try not to say shit like, "In this day and age," or "kids today..."

All of that being said, I suppose if I were 80, in chronic pain, unable to hear or see well, it would be easy to be grumpy. I guess I should give them some grace.
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To quote Kurt vonnegut, yet again, "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."
 
My in-laws are 72 (MIL) and 75 (FIL). The last couple of years we've noticed the same thing. Every time they go out to dinner, there is a complaint about something during or after the meal. In general, the conversation is usually slanted toward the negative. My wife and I talk often about trying to stay self aware enough to not let the same happen to us.
Also, anxiety seems to spike as you get older (70+). I'd be interested to hear from others. I can't cook in my FIL's kitchen anymore, because he is so anxious that I'm doing something wrong (place a pot in the wrong place, burn something on the stove, why is the oven on...etc). We're taking a trip with all of the extended family in Feb. The house we're renting requires hiring a private chef. Sounds great, right. FIL is totally freaked out by it...we'll see how it goes.
 
Based on 1 person...me
As you get older the brain slows down , gets a little cloudy. Likewise the body. My activity level way down-for starters have not had a job for several years. Sometimes a half hour blowing leaves and and an hour going to the Grocer is a "big day", Even those tasks usually mean 2- 3 "restarts" Forgot to put on work gloves, have to go back into the House before leaving cause I forgot my wallet -or my mate forgot the gocery list.
I think my occasional grumpiness is a product of "I know what is going on with me and it pisses me off"
Don't get me wrong I am barely into this aging process (70)-but boy I know it is here and accelerating
 
CarolinaFever said:
Went out to dinner tonight with the family. My dad complained the whole time. Complained about having to wait to get seated, complained about the food, and complained about wanting to go when everyone was talking after eating. That led to he and my mom arguing. Fun times. Would have been better if he just stayed home. I hope I don't get like that when I am old.
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My guess is that your dad has always been a complainer to some extent. The personality traits one has tend to become more prominent with age.

If you have not been a complainer until now, it is not likely you will "get like that" when you are old.
 
mpaer said:
Based on 1 person...me
As you get older the brain slows down , gets a little cloudy. Likewise the body. My activity level way down-for starters have not had a job for several years. Sometimes a half hour blowing leaves and and an hour going to the Grocer is a "big day", Even those tasks usually mean 2- 3 "restarts" Forgot to put on work gloves, have to go back into the House before leaving cause I forgot my wallet -or my mate forgot the gocery list.
I think my occasional grumpiness is a product of "I know what is going on with me and it pisses me off"
Don't get me wrong I am barely into this aging process (70)-but boy I know it is here and accelerating
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LOL! I can't figure out how I got all my personal stuff done when I was working. A dentist appointment or a trip to Costco is something I build my day around now. And I love it! It's like every day is Saturday. I get up, take the dog out for a walk, come back in and have coffee while I do my Wordle and other NY Times games and decide what I will do about breakfast. Around 9 or 10 I wander upstairs to get showered and begin my day.

I love retirement because all those annoying things I had to do before or after work or on weekends I am now able to do midday and relax the rest of the time.
 
I am 73 and about as content as I've ever been. Now, that's not a very high bar because I've traveled a bit of a rough road. Otoh, I'm retired, reasonably healthy and playing with house money. These are essentially free years for me. I had to face up to a very good chance of dying a few years back so my perspective might be a little different. Now I've lost most of my family older than me and many of my friends but there's no changing that. Lost my first friend when I was 17 and intermittently since. Started losing them faster in my late 40s. All that's just part of it.
 
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