Parents have started doing what Grandparents do

[Bringbackthe90s]

Was speaking to my mum the other day and she was saying how she can’t get back to sleep after waking up at around 6 am now. She said they go downstairs and put the radio on the tv and listens to hits from the 60/70’s with a cup of coffee/tea.
Sounds a nice thing to do, but I remember my Grandparents doing similar, i don’t know, I guess I’ve become very aware of their age all of a sudden…mum 69, dad, 73

[lucielou82]

@tunnocksreturns2019 your aunty sounds amazing! Let's aim to be as fabulous as her xxx

[Moll2020]

My parents are 84 & 80 and are hilarious. Both deaf as a post but don’t wear their hearing aids as they “can hear perfectly well thank you “! Mum (80) is still driving, nerves of steel are required to be her passenger but she only drives local. We’re off to a family wedding next week, I went with them a couple of days ago on a dummy run to help them find the place, they both argued either with each other or with the sat nav, thank god we stopped in a pub for lunch. They won’t go anywhere certain days of the week or certain times because of traffic (4 cars at a traffic light means major problems)!! But I love em to bits and they are brilliant parents & grandparents. We introduced them to FaceTime during lockdown, if they can master the camera and I don’t have to see up my Dad’s nostrils or his forehead/ceiling light ever again we’ll be ok. Top of their list for packing for the wedding - Bacardi (in small plastic bottle) & Gordon’s gin! Here’s to a few more years please

[InFiveMins]

Yes, my parents are like this too.

I vividly remember the realisation that they were officially 'old' when they started complaining about portion sizes in restaurants and gasping in horror at anyone who could 'manage' to eat a plate full of food. They eat child portions or starters and insist they are 'stuffed'. My grandmother was exactly the same.

They also have their heating on pretty much constantly. Their house is BOILING. Will likely change now due to the rise in energy costs but they will regularly complain that they are 'freezing' when its uncomfortably hot. Another trait I recall from my grandparents.

[Beachbreak2411]

My parents have always got up about 530am ever since I was little… I’d be more concerned if they started to sleep in tbh!!

[Avavlon]

Yes ,I'm 58 and I think I turned in to my mum about 5 years ago,I repeat the sayings she said,like pets are a tie, iv become a lot more cyncell I pop in to public toilet a lot more and always make sure I leave the toilet before I leave home.
I never want to go out in evenings once I get home although that may be due to leaving for work at 5 am ,but yes I'm definitely my mother and we use to fight like cat and dog lol

[BlodynGwyn]

@Laquila

Absolutely. My mum complained the other day that "Everything's so fast nowadays...everyone speaks so fast" and it was a real sort of paradigm shift for me (is that the right term?!)

She's been a bit forgetful recently too and I don't know whether I'm imagining it or ignoring it 😳

I'm in my late 60's and I notice people seem to be talking too fast. I have to keep playing back parts of movies to see what happened and what people actually said.

I was having so much trouble with this one movie, I just couldn't figure out how one minute the character was in one room and then suddenly he was in the hallway. I replayed it a dozen times. When my son came over I asked him to watch it and explain it to me. He watched it once and told me the guy moved by telekinesis. I would have caught that immediately just a few years ago. I used to be very sharp and on the ball. I feel like I dropped at least 20 IQ points.

And I'm forgetful - which you can actually use in your favour, if you're clever.

I feel like my memory files are full and now I'm just deleting new information.

[ChrisConary]

There is no sleeping in for me, age 65, with a granddaughter, two cats and a puppy that wants breakfast and to go outside. DS and DIL sleep in while I give the granddaughter breakfast. I'm awake anyhow, so they might as well get some sleep.

[MarchingOnTogether]

This thread makes me kinda sad, my parents died at 57 and 62, but I didn't know my grandparents well enough to know if they were becoming like them anyway.
Both my parents had alcohol dependency issues and I don't drink much as I definitely don't want to end up like them. But I'm a lot like my dad in other ways and it's quite nice when people make that comparison

[Tiredalwaystired]

I lost both my parents years ago. I would do anything to have seen them turn into my grandparents. My mum never even got to meet her grandchildren.

Please don’t feel sad. Celebrate that they are here and enjoying themselves. There’s enough time to get sad after they’ve gone.

[RachaelN]

I do this. I'm 32 😂

[Missingpop]

As we get older we need less sleep; your parents are probably just doing what feels right to them; without even realising they’re replicating your grandparents; I think it’s kind of sweet really.
It is quite sobering when it suddenly hits you that your parents are getting elderly but be grateful not everyone has that privilege; I’d give anything to spend five minutes with my dad as a 72 year old sadly he died in his mid 40’s so I often think of my grandpa & imagine dad would be very much like him xx
Love & treasure the moments you have with them life is short xx

[moonfruitjo]

Which radio station are they listening to please? Sounds like a perfect way to wait for my mob to wake up.
I wake a 5am/6am, only 55 but I have a life limiting illness so I try not to go back to bed while I have a choice.

[Idontgiveashitanymore]

I do this all the time. I’m 60 and dgaf what others think. It’s my life and I’ll do what I want now !

[Allmarbleslost]

I only see my dps twice a year due to distance and each time I see them I notice bien much they've aged (they're early 70s)

on the other hand I'm early 40s and I can never understand what anyones saying on the tv!

[itsnotmeitisactuallyyou]

@IncompleteSenten

I was so determined to never turn into my mother that I accidentally turned into my dad.

Beer belly, dad jokes and luxurious beard included. 😭

Haha thats too funny!😂😂

[MangyInseam]

I've had experiences like this recently, I see my mum and step-father doing many of the things I remember my grandparents used to do - things their kids made fun of them for (gently.)

I realized abruptly at a family event a few years ago that my generation in my family were now playing the roles of our parents at similar events, while our parents sat on the sidelines as out grandparents had when we were kids.

[greenritta]

I am in my thirties and really, really do not want kids.
What makes me sad is that maybe, nobody will remember me as being this way and then that other way when I get older. I know I have my choices but I'm a bit scared it's gonna be lonely..

[antelopevalley]

@greenritta Even if you have kids, you get forgotten. Everyone except the ultra famous like Darwin gets forgotten.

[Rhaenys]

I’ve felt a similar thing for myself over the past year or so since I’ve made the switch from Radio 1 to Radio 2. It feels surreal that it’s happened, and so seamlessly too.

[chalkiegirl]

Speaking at 71 as one of the ‘old’, I think Covid and the lock downs had a huge effect on many of us. Even though pretty active and busy pre pandemic the enforced staying at home has been quite difficult to break out of.
Also the early waking has happened to me and I don’t like it!

[RockyReef]

I have seen this happen with one of my parents but not the other. My mother is 72 and has become very set in her ways in all aspects of her life, won't drive anywhere unfamiliar, doesn't want to go abroad or on long journeys anymore, barely goes out in fact as she's happy at home reading her book or gardening. My father on the other hand still seems to want some adventure in his life, he wants to travel to see the places he hasn't seen in the world and even at home is keen to go out and about cycling and exploring new places. He does almost all the driving and has resorted to going out a lot without my mother as she is so housebound recently. It's very hard, and the hardest thing is that she stops him doing the bigger things he wants to do, like travelling. he's not even that old, (75 at Christmas). It's very unfair as he would be happy to go without her, but it's as though not only does she not want to go, she wants to stop him going too. I think covid lockdowns were the final straw for her and now because she's happiest staying at home she is making him give up his dreams too. There's no arguing with her either sadly, and Father doesn't want to upset her so he gives in. Other than that they are very happy, so maybe I should just be grateful for that, but it does feel horrid seeing one grow old before their time (she used to be very adventurous and always off doing things).

[supersop60]

@IncompleteSenten

I was so determined to never turn into my mother that I accidentally turned into my dad.

Beer belly, dad jokes and luxurious beard included. 😭

OMG. Lightbulb moment. Me too!

[supersop60]

@Tiredalwaystired

I lost both my parents years ago. I would do anything to have seen them turn into my grandparents. My mum never even got to meet her grandchildren.

Please don’t feel sad. Celebrate that they are here and enjoying themselves. There’s enough time to get sad after they’ve gone.

Also agree with this. I lost my parents when I was in my 30s.

[borntobequiet]

I agree with the poster who said that people who avoid motorways may always have disliked them. I’m nearly 70 and drive on motorways if I need to and it’s more convenient - I don’t mind it - but I’ll also avoid them and drive a longer but more pleasant way if I feel like it. I can do this because I don’t have the time pressures that I used to, and motorway driving can be simultaneously boring and stressful.
Aspects of the menopause may be a factor in changed behaviour in women as suggested by pp. I intend to keep up my HRT indefinitely to stave off the horrible brain fog and aches and pains I get without it.
It’s both easier to gain weight and harder to lose it with age, so smaller appetites are probably a good thing. Portion sizes in some places are immense. I’m generally happy with a starter or child sized portion in restaurants.
The effects of ageing are different for different people but the thing that I didn’t expect (not sure why not) was the marked decrease in muscle tone and strength, and reduced movement in joints, through my 60s - and I’m still relatively fit and healthy, probably more so than quite a few younger women I know. I can see why this might reduce people’s activity levels.
As for interest in news and current affairs, well, avoidance of these things can probably contribute to better mood and mental health at present.

[velvetvixen]

@Nanny0gg

I'm nearly 70. Can't wait to reach the Tiny Portion stage!

Me too! 😆68, appetite of a teenager!