Curmudgeon anyone?
Forums:
Does anyone feel like a curmudgeon these days? I'm in my 60's, COVID beat the heck out of me recently and DH's younger sibling invited himself and his several young kids to stay at our house this weekend. Ugh. And his definition of weekend is coming tonight and staying thru til Tuesday. Grrr! I just got back from the grocery lugging it all in. Mercifully I am working the next two days but ugh. I no longer feel like entertaining kids anymore the older I get. Grownup things yes but this??? Am I truly an old woman?? Grumpy too??? Maybe if it was a grandchild I don't know.
No, it's natural
There's nothing wrong with you, it's just nature. Imo, as we get older, we have less energy, physical, mentally and emotionally, to entertain younger people. If you are a cumudgeon, then so am I. I wish all my family well and hope the best for all but nowadays, I can only take so much of any of them.
I stopped emtertaining, which was mostly Christmas for 5 kids, spouses and 9 gkids,, a few years ago. Family members have told me how surprised they are at the amount of work and expense it takes. Lol
Yes!!
There are only so many hours in the day. Nobody really appreciates a home cooked meal anymore. Will these young kids appreciate home baked versus Costco. No. Si I'm not wasting my time. I don't understand why someone who lives a few hours away needs to inconvenience us with their kids for 5 days. I think sometimes parents have tunnel vision. They don't understand how others don't find their kids cute and adorable. I do. For the first few hours then I'm done. Lol. DH knows he is the entertainer cook and tour guide.
Great-grandkids
I'm 78 so have great-grandkids. My step-granddaughter brought her 2yo and 4-month old baby over last month. I was happy to see them all and secretly proud that she felt comfortable enough with me in a "grandma" role to come show off her kids.
BUT, after 1/2 an hour of a busy 2yo and the baby, I was wiped. DH, the biological relative, couldn't have cared less. We planned a trip to a Children's Museum this summer. She texted last week to see when we'd go. But, due to a recent back injury, there is no way I could do it now.
I know she still sees us as the active grandparents we were. She'd like her kids to have the experiences she had. DH is very witty and attractive to kids. I get it but we are just not up for it at all.
My DH66 proudly declares
My DH66 proudly declares himself as a curmudgeon. I'm 58 and have labels for myself too. I don't think we're curmudgeons. I think we're simply at different stages of our lives. We've raised our kids, worked hard and if we haven't retired, we're close to it. We just don't have the energy or desire to be on that level anymore. DH has made it clear to our entire clan that we will never live with anyone other than ourselves again. As much as DH adores his GS, DH even limits time with him. Neither DH nor I have that energy anymore. Grandkiddos are great because they can be sent home or we can leave their place. LOL
We're also done with any drama or any dynamic that isn't happy happy joy joy. SS31 is getting married next month. It is anticipated that BM will wail over being NC with SD33 and GS2. DH and I have an escape plan in place. We're just not interested in dealing with anything we don't want to and at our ages, we are unapologetically that way.
Exactly
That's why I'm a bit annoyed that DH didn't set limits with this. He's not sure when he's leaving. Really?? I just like my space. I no longer cater to kids. After 2 days of this I will be looking to stay at a hotel. Maybe it's me but younger parents cater to kids way too much.
I am a young curmudgeon. It
I am a young curmudgeon. It is like I'm a 90 year old trapped in a mid/late 30s body. I have no energy (anemia), no patience (stress), and deep desire to be left the h- alone by the entire world. Besides DH, there's exactly 3 people I care about seeing (my parents and my brother). That definitely doesn't include children.
ETA: I love home cooked food. I've been really wishing for a nice Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the sides lately for some reason.
Steplife would turn a
Steplife would turn a teenager into a curmudgeon!
That was my line in the sand when son moved.
You are not wrong. DH has been "complaining -hinting and using the excuse of I just want to be an empty nester again. So prior to my son moving out I extracted a commitment to no guests for a while. Within a week he offered our guest room to his brother who was passing through. I'm like Uhmm we talked about this remember? He had to withdraw the offer.
Yes. Me too. And it is okay.
Kids are for doing chores. Bring yours to my house and they will be scrubbing, vacuuming, weeding, taking out the garbage, etc...