Just venting

[misery chastain loves co.]

Just remember when they start to annoy the hell out of you(believe me it happens to all of us)that you don't know how much longer you might have with them. Morbid thought I know but it's hard not to think about it. Cliche' but true, never go to bed mad and never hang up the phone mad. It might be the last time you talk to them. I apply this to my fur baby as well. Yes, the talking part too

 

[Grandpa]

Chelle71 and FlakeNoir -- inner peace for your both. I think the grumps come along with old age mainly because they realize there is a lot of things their "bodies" will no longer allow them to do. The mind is still sharp and the inner desire to do it there, but the body screams out no. They also inwardly begin to realize loss of dependence. That's a tough one. So, they just get grumpy.

Take it from this old guy. Yeah, it's tough when the body is letting you down. I don't really have aches that come with age, except when I sit, squat, or lie down, or get up.

The BS tolerance has much thinner margins. That's because you realize just about all the time that there's far less time ahead than there is behind, you haven't cured cancer, walked on the moon, written the novel, made a fortune, or done those other things you thought you would, time is running out, and you don't want to spend any of the remaining moments with nonsense.

Being young is fun. The energy, the skin tone, the muscle mass, the speed, the creativity, the eyesight and hearing, the good looks if you had them. Heck, the hair. Whereas sometimes you think that the best part of being old is simply not being dead yet.

So it might be that a decent tonic for a grumpy old person might be simply to get them out to do something fun. Can't guarantee it'll work. But that's why I stay busy with wife, kids, grandkids, work, writing, and this most excellent Internet forum that I stumbled onto.

 

[Spideyman]

Take it from this old guy. Yeah, it's tough when the body is letting you down. I don't really have aches that come with age, except when I sit, squat, or lie down, or get up.

The BS tolerance has much thinner margins. That's because you realize just about all the time that there's far less time ahead than there is behind, you haven't cured cancer, walked on the moon, written the novel, made a fortune, or done those other things you thought you would, time is running out, and you don't want to spend any of the remaining moments with nonsense.

Being young is fun. The energy, the skin tone, the muscle mass, the speed, the creativity, the eyesight and hearing, the good looks if you had them. Heck, the hair. Whereas sometimes you think that the best part of being old is simply not being dead yet.

So it might be that a decent tonic for a grumpy old person might be simply to get them out to do something fun. Can't guarantee it'll work. But that's why I stay busy with wife, kids, grandkids, work, writing, and this most excellent Internet forum that I stumbled onto.

Your words are spoken true and spot on!

 

[SharonC]

It is a vent

Duh! I need another coffee!

 

[ghost19]

Don't you all think it's about time we told Scott that this is his retirement home?

He's very old. needs glasses as thick as old time coke bottles to read posts anyway

 

[GNTLGNT]

He's very old. needs glasses as thick as old time coke bottles to read posts anyway

...yer one brave sumbitch on the other side of that monitor ain'tcha son????.....

 

[Todash]

Do you think it could possibly be depression? Certainly if he never gets outside, he (like most of us) is low on Vitamin D, which is a big mood thing ... easy fix, though. Also, an IQ of 183 is ridiculous. Here is what I have found with very smart people: they tend to think they can outsmart their physicality (my IQ is nowhere near 183, but I used to think the same). They can't. None of us can outsmart our humanity. Sufficient healthy food, sufficient exercise, sunshine every day, keeping busy in productive ways, doing for others: those are important components of happiness, and some of them (feeling needed, for example) naturally decline in old age, especially post-retirement. At least in Western civilization. Grandpa and Spideyman have it mostly figured out, sounds like.

It's true that the aches and pains of old age are not to be scoffed at ... but also, many of them are not inevitable. It's always worth checking with a proactive doctor (you know, the kind who believe in good diet and exercise and checking out what might be wrong) to see if the creaks can be uncreaked. Yeah, he might say "degenerative arthritis, not much we can do beyond pain pills, sorry" ... but he also might say "try these strengthening exercises." And so what if you need a pain pill? There are worse things.

Of course, getting a crabby old guy to accept all that is a challenge.

 

[Chelle71]

Do you think it could possibly be depression? Certainly if he never gets outside, he (like most of us) is low on Vitamin D, which is a big mood thing ... easy fix, though. Also, an IQ of 183 is ridiculous. Here is what I have found with very smart people: they tend to think they can outsmart their physicality (my IQ is nowhere near 183, but I used to think the same). They can't. None of us can outsmart our humanity. Sufficient healthy food, sufficient exercise, sunshine every day, keeping busy in productive ways, doing for others: those are important components of happiness, and some of them (feeling needed, for example) naturally decline in old age, especially post-retirement. At least in Western civilization. Grandpa and Spideyman have it mostly figured out, sounds like.

It's true that the aches and pains of old age are not to be scoffed at ... but also, many of them are not inevitable. It's always worth checking with a proactive doctor (you know, the kind who believe in good diet and exercise and checking out what might be wrong) to see if the creaks can be uncreaked. Yeah, he might say "degenerative arthritis, not much we can do beyond pain pills, sorry" ... but he also might say "try these strengthening exercises." And so what if you need a pain pill? There are worse things.

Of course, getting a crabby old guy to accept all that is a challenge.

Yes, I totally think he has a bit of depression...I have talked to him about that but he won't go to the dr or just get out and move...*sigh*