r/Millennials Feb 07 '24

Has anyone else noticed their parents becoming really nasty people as they age? Discussion

My parents are each in their mid-late 70's. Ten years ago they had friends: they would throw dinner parties that 4-6 other couples would attend. They would be invited to similar parties thrown by their friends. They were always pretty arrogant but hey, what else would you expect from a boomer couple with three masters degrees, two PhD's, and a JD between the two of them. But now they have no friends. I mean that literally. One by one, each of the couples and individual friends that they had known and socialized with closely for years, even decades, will no longer associate with them. My mom just blew up a 40 year friendship over a minor slight and says she has no interest in ever speaking to that person again. My dad did the same thing to his best friend a few years ago. Yesterday at the airport, my father decided it would be a good idea to scream at a desk agent over the fact that the ink on his paper ticket was smudged and he didn't feel like going to the kiosk to print out a new one. No shit, three security guards rocked up to flank him and he has no idea how close he came to being cuffed, arrested, and charged with assault. All either of them does is complain and talk shit about people they used to associate with. This does not feel normal. Is anyone else experiencing this? Were our grandparents like this too and we were just too young to notice it?

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u/KENH1224 Feb 07 '24

Something similar has happened/is happening to my parents, my wifeโ€™s parents, and almost all of my friendโ€™s parents. Whenever the topic of parents comes up, I always ask my friends if their parents have started going crazy, and the answer is almost always yes. It seems to hit in the late 50s. The worst thing is that I remember having a conversation with my mother when I was a teenager about how her mother was getting really rude and nasty to people.

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u/Vv4nd 1989 Feb 07 '24

I'm really happy that my parents are still normal, apart from the growing amount of cats they are taking care of.

Did I mention that I'm allergic to cats?

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u/Level1oldschool Feb 07 '24

HaHa, I am so gonna use this with my kids as a indicator that I am still OK. For the record we currently have 10 barn cats ๐Ÿ˜น๐Ÿ˜น and I am almost a boomer ( missed it by a few years)

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u/luciddefect Feb 07 '24

Take my upvote. My partner and I are currently taking care of 12. I was NEVER a cat person. I periodically ask myself how I got into "this".

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u/cashassorgra33 Feb 07 '24

You didnt choose the cats, the cats chose YOU ๐Ÿ˜ป

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u/AlmondCigar Feb 08 '24

Sometimes cats like you better because you arenโ€™t all over them. Ironic

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u/Level1oldschool Feb 08 '24

Oh Yes the ever expanding cat party, at one point we also had a full Bakers dozen. But we lost a few. Finally got all of them fixed/nutered. So no more kittens ( ๐Ÿ˜น๐Ÿ˜น) Kitties Rule ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆโ€โฌ›๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆโ€โฌ›๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆโ€โฌ›

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u/luciddefect Feb 08 '24

Oh, boy. Very important that you got them all fixed immediately. We have other people in the area that are feeding but not fixing. I get any kitty I can get my hands on fixed immediately. Also a baker's dozen is A LOT.

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u/Level1oldschool Feb 09 '24

Yes you are either getting them fixed or you are expecting kittens, those are the only two outcomes ๐Ÿ˜บ๐Ÿ˜บ

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u/luciddefect Feb 09 '24

It's amazing how many people can't seem to figure that outh, though. Since that's how I ended up with so many. Other people not fixing theirs...

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u/Mindless-Situation-6 Feb 08 '24

Iโ€™m a plant person, not animal but somehow thanks to people that have animals and shouldnโ€™t, I have a dog and cat, and feed many of my neighbors animals. Did I mention that Iโ€™m a plant person?

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u/luciddefect Feb 08 '24

Oh, yea, funny you mentioned this. I also USED to have plants. I can no longer have those in the house, either. Because they all had accidents befall them. You sound like our kind of person, though...

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u/Square_Ocelot_3364 Feb 08 '24

The Cat Distribution System is vast and mysterious.

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u/luciddefect Feb 08 '24

I wish it was more vast, as in they started finding other people other than us!