Older folks and their endearing ways . Not.

[Nofeckingway]

Going on from a previous OP that said her ILs drive her insane with their narrow food choices, constant tea drinking and couch sitting .. what little harmless ways drive you mad ?
My father when I was younger and visiting with small DCs would come into the bedroom when he figured we had slept enough to squeegee and dry the windows of any condensation. Happened a lot as we often visited at Xmas time . Just because it was his habit every morning . Also wanted a dinner at 1pm despite us only getting around to brunch at 12. Would turn news on in middle of people talking . Hated anyone sitting in his chair .

But he redeemed himself as he was also a loving generous man and he and my mother would go shopping for nappies, wipes , food for our visits and pick up the tab for meals out .

I’m 36 and have taken a bag for dirty laundry on holiday for as long as I can remember, I don’t think it’s an “older person” thing.

Re the routine thing someone mentioned upthread, my parents are quite routine. They have to eat their dinner at 6.30pm each evening, Even if they’re not hungry. So we go out for a big lunch and still be full at 6.30pm but eat dinner anyway. I always say along the lines of “why don’t you eat a bit later on if you’re not hungry yet?” But they wouldn’t dream of it!

She sounds amazing. I love this! I've been worrying about getting older but this is the sort of thing that really warms me!

....or send this postcard....

I'm nearly 50, my mum's nearly 80. But if I go and stay with my parents and go on a night out with old friends while I'm there, when I tiptoe through the door in the early hours, I still see my mum's bedside light go off, as though I'm still a teenager and she's quietly waiting up for me like she always used to when I was young and stupid!! 😅😭

Aw, that's so sweet!

to me putting "lighthearted" and thinking that excuses rudeness about others is the equivalent of "its just bantz. can they not take a joke" And i wouldn't call wholemeal pasta with tomato sauce a meal either.

She cooks everything from scratch and came round at the weekend with freshly made almond biscuits, which were delicious. We were discussing who to vote for at the local elections.
My aunt is 93, regularly goes to yoga and is learning Italian. Her favourite tv show is Top Gear and she wants to go to an F1 race.
I don't think it's age so much as mindset. Some people on here seem very stuck in their ways and attitudes, and I assume are years younger.

My parents had a whistling kettle for a very long time. Eventually they gave in and got an electric one. Unfortunately my Dad put it on the hob to boil. Of course it melted onto the stove top ruining the kettle and the cooker.

Their endearing ways are sometimes safer than pushing for change.....

If you read the very first post , it refers to mildly irritating habits . Not a wholesale call for a culling of older people of which I am one .
Some MNrs are determined to find fault with the most innocent of statements.

Some peeps need to find offence in anything and everything,

This is my MIL as well, she goes on and on and on about people that none of us have met/have met once, and even changes the topic from people we do know - her own grandkids, as an example - back to one of her friend's sisters and her issues with their mum?!!!!

It's so so boring and there is no way to stop it because she is constantly changing the topic back again. Even if you manage to interrupt with something else, it's 'Anyway, back to Meg's sister...'

Arghhh.

Just dipped into this thread as it was trending.

I’m amazed by the amount of posts there are from people criticising the thread subject and the OP.

These self-appointed critics seem strangely invested, and appear to be trying to derail the thread with their inane responses.

Personally I think it’s rather nasty and unpleasant of them. Why not just scroll on if you aren’t interested in or don’t like the thread subject?

If it helps I’m 45 and my kids already have things I do they find weird. It’s generational differences rather than ageism. They find my trainer socks disturbing 😂.

I think things must gradually morph into rigidity. No shade on older people, we are all on the journey!

The stages of life are:-

1. Mum closes the curtains at night and whinges in the morning if I come down and watch TV without having opened them. She's a pain (but I feel loved).
2. I close my curtains at night when I remember and feel proudly grown up.
3. Actually, thinking about it, it helps me to feel a bit sleepy and stops people looking in, so why not, I'll do them.
4. I feel better and sleep better when the curtains are closed and opened so I do it more often than not.
5. DH doesn't close the curtains?? What an idiot. I feel kind of uncomfortable, guess I'd better get up to close them myself...
6. Or I can't sleep...
7. Visitors are here! Great to see them. I hope they've closed the curtains.
8. I'll just pop in and check, they can't be that deeply asleep yet. Or - it's already 9.30am, time to open the curtains! I'll go in, perhaps they have forgotten the time.
9. DD, you NEED to make sure the curtains are closed!!! I'm not getting into this hospice transport ambulance if the curtains remain open!!!

I'm currently at stage 5-6.

@PaddingtonsMarmaladeSandwich Thanks for this . Don't understand the aggressiveness . Again this is an example of MN turning toxic . A simple post about the amusing but endearing habits of the older people in your life .

Generalising about an entire generation and inviting people to send posts talking about things that annoy them about that generation is certainly ageist and discriminatory.

Imagine if you started a thread called"Black people and their endearing ways. Not." You would rightly be torn apart. Claiming that it's "lighthearted" does not change anything.

My DH does the plate warming thing. He loves his routine. I keep telling him not to let the old man in. I find myself obsessing about folding blankets properly. And for those who are offended on behalf of us oldies-please save your offended for something genuinely discriminatory. In general, we oldies like to laugh at ourselves.

Why does it have to be specifically directed at older people?

Would you say that about a racist or disablist thread?

I'm older than that and haven't felt the need. A plastic bag is fine.

It's not OK to take a uniquely female body part to use as a pejorative.

It's almost as if we have different methods which aren't age dependent, eh? 😊

I’m 60 but I do this a bit to my kids. Their lives are so full with work, travel, parties - so much exciting stuff happening. I love hearing about it all.

I don’t do nearly as much. I’m retired and my life - other than keeping on top of the house - is around getting together with dear old girlfriends. We talk about what our kids are up to and - inevitably - health because at our age there’s always something going on.

So I haven’t actually got that much news of my own. So when they ask me what’s going on in my world I tell them about so-and-so’s hip replacement or somebody else’s daughter’s husband has just left her, or whatever.

Sadly, I think they probably find it a bit exasperating, like you. But I really haven’t got any other news.