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And as long as I'm trying on a new identity, I think I'm going to revel in my crotchitiness. Ohhhh it feels good!
Wanna hear the crotchity truth? Grandma is sick and tired of spending Christmas with the family. It was fun at first, but now Grandma wants to go home and spend some time with adults.
Oh, how I long for adult conversation. For jokes that are a little more sophisticated than fart jokes. To talk with people who have actually been to an opera, or who know that travelling to Italy is about enjoying a new culture (not about finding a McDonald's).
Take me home, so I can hear opinions from people who have actually done things (instead of opinionated guesses from people who "know it all" even though they have not done much of anything yet).
Grandma is bo-o-o-red with hip hop and the Wii. Grandma is fed up with bickering. Grandma has heard enough "gimmee this, gimmee that" and "Grandma buy me a cookie, buy me a prom dress, buy us all tickets to the movies" to last her quite a while.
Oh, it felt good to say those things. I think I'm going to like being crotchety.
And as long as I'm trying on a new identity, I think I'm going to revel in my crotchitiness. Ohhhh it feels good!
Wanna hear the crotchity truth? Grandma is sick and tired of spending Christmas with the family. It was fun at first, but now Grandma wants to go home and spend some time with adults.
Oh, how I long for adult conversation. For jokes that are a little more sophisticated than fart jokes. To talk with people who have actually been to an opera, or who know that travelling to Italy is about enjoying a new culture (not about finding a McDonald's).
Take me home, so I can hear opinions from people who have actually done things (instead of opinionated guesses from people who "know it all" even though they have not done much of anything yet).
Grandma is bo-o-o-red with hip hop and the Wii. Grandma is fed up with bickering. Grandma has heard enough "gimmee this, gimmee that" and "Grandma buy me a cookie, buy me a prom dress, buy us all tickets to the movies" to last her quite a while.
Oh, it felt good to say those things. I think I'm going to like being crotchety.
Amen! What ever happened to fear and respect? When we were kids you didn't want any adults to catch you doing something wrong (like smoking a cigarette) but kids now simply sneer at you with comtempt as if to dare you to go ahead and tell their parents because they aren't any more afraid of mom and dad than they are of you.
And manners are a thing of the past with most of them. Instead of thanking you for a gift they act as if they were entitled to it.
I don't know if I feel crochety toward many of the young people that I have met because of their bad manners or because of their sense of entitlement, or because I just don't find that many of them have much substance to them.
Gosh! Around here where I live a lot of the times it's the old geezers who are just sitting at the machines not using them when we buff, younger people want to use them. I have to admit though, I am guilty of using the Stairmaster for at least an hour 3 days a week. But the catch is - I am actually USING the Stairmaster - not just staring at it or playing with it.
Gosh! Around here where I live a lot of the times it's the old geezers who are just sitting at the machines not using them when we buff, younger people want to use them. I have to admit though, I am guilty of using the Stairmaster for at least an hour 3 days a week. But the catch is - I am actually USING the Stairmaster - not just staring at it or playing with it.
You're buff. Well, rah rah rah for you.
I'm alive. And I'd like to stay that way. That's why I use a stairmaster.
I'm fighting cardiac arrest, that's why I use a lifecycle.
I'm fighting diabetes, that's why I use a treadmill.
I have an exercise program designed by my doctor for my medical situation.
So sorry that if I don't work out at your strenuous pace you think that's "playing."
But hey, I get it. Only buff people should be given any respect in the community gym. Because you're buff. God forbid anyone get tired for a second. If that should happen, they should immediately quit and leave the gym so that your royal buffness won't be contaminated by people who don't workout at your level.
...and this just brings us back to the original point. The Young and the Buff (sounds like a soap opera, huh) don't want us in their gym. They play music that sounds frantic and irritating to most seniors. They feel they have a right to dominate the equipment becuase seniors are "just staring at it or playing with it." They use the equipment for an hour at a time, and feel their "buffness" entitles them to make everyone else wait.
And yet, at the same time, if seniors go off and get their own community and their own gym, they are labelled "unfriendly." Sheesh!
You're buff. Well, rah rah rah for you.
I'm alive. And I'd like to stay that way. That's why I use a stairmaster.
I'm fighting cardiac arrest, that's why I use a lifecycle.
I'm fighting diabetes, that's why I use a treadmill.
I have an exercise program designed by my doctor for my medical situation.
So sorry that if I don't work out at your strenuous pace you think that's "playing."
But hey, I get it. Only buff people should be given any respect in the community gym. Because you're buff. God forbid anyone get tired for a second. If that should happen, they should immediately quit and leave the gym so that your royal buffness won't be contaminated by people who don't workout at your level.
...and this just brings us back to the original point. The Young and the Buff (sounds like a soap opera, huh) don't want us in their gym. They play music that sounds frantic and irritating to most seniors. They feel they have a right to dominate the equipment becuase seniors are "just staring at it or playing with it." They use the equipment for an hour at a time, and feel their "buffness" entitles them to make everyone else wait.
And yet, at the same time, if seniors go off and get their own community and their own gym, they are labelled "unfriendly." Sheesh!
Wow! I never labeled you "unfriendly". I'm sorry you feel that way.
Not aimed at you--LauraC was the one who suggested people might view 55+ communities as being unfriendly because young people aren't allowed to use the facilities.
It just took a series of posts to get to the bottom line: No, I do not feel 55+ communities are unfriendly.
And I'm not picking on Laura, either--she happens to be a poster I admire. Many great thoughts, interesting insights. I appreciate that she explored this topic, and I didn't mean to snap any heads off.
Visiting my family has been a good experience this Christmas. I love 'em--but I am reminded why I am healthier, happier, and yes friendlier when I live in the community of adults.
We don't live in a 55+ but had an experience in FL when we lived in a mixed ages area. My DH's parents came to visit us in our townhouse. DH's mom was very hard of hearing and refused to buy a hearing aid.
DH & I both worked but when I came home at lunchtime one day to see how they were doing, I could hear the ballgame on the TV all the way out in the street. The front door was open and they were at the back of the house watching TV. It was so loud I could hardly go inside. THAT could happen in a 55+ if one has hard of hearing neighbors. So don't necessarily count on peace and quiet!
When one moves into a new area and knows few to no people, the issue is how do they make friends. When employed it often evolves around that. My wife and I relocated to new places several times. Our new friends were generally a result of our empolyment and the fact we were both avid golfers and we joined a local golf club.
Now take people over 55, retiring, and relocating to a new place and you have quite a change on your hands. It can help to establish new friends if many are in the same boat. Does not mean all will get along because they are over 55, but that will sort itself out.
Personally, I would feel very comfortable in an over 55 neighborhood.
We live in a 55+ mobile home park and have found it to be very different than what we expected. We thought there would be activities in the clubhouse during the daytime, but there are little to no activities. The clubhouse is usually deserted. For the most part, people keep to themselves. A few are friendly in that they will say hi when they see you and maybe chat for a few minutes, but that's about it.
It is very quiet here, which we like. It's a really nice park that is kept up very well. It's easy to take care of our mobile home and the little bit of yard we have, so that's all good. We just thought there would be more friendly people hanging around in the clubhouse socializing and playing cards, or whatever and there is none of that.
From reading other posts, it sounds like each 55+ community has it's own personality. If I were to do it over again, I would take the time to get to know what that personality is before making the move. For the most part we like it here, but we would prefer a friendlier, more active community.
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Sheesh! 
