Grumpy old man

You have Oscar the Grouch? Who doesn’t like Oscar, the lovable grump who lives in a trash can on Sesame Street. There’s the two critics from The Muppet Show, Statler and Waldorf, best known for their cantankerous opinions and penchant for heckling. 

People of a certain age, remember Archie Bunker from All in the Family. He most certainly ruled the roost and could be obnoxious and hurtful. Archie hated the changing world, but underneath it all he had a heart of gold.

There have been some other great curmudgeons over time, everyone from Oscar Madison from The Odd Couple, Dr. Gregory House from House, Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec. to actors Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau from the movie Grumpy Old Men.

Looking in the mirror

I write all this because, I think I think I’m becoming one. In the past six weeks:

–I’ve whined about the challenges of travel.

–I’ve whined about the weather and snow, complaining when it snows, grumbling when it doesn’t. One minute it’s too hot, another it’s too cold. I’m rarely if ever happy lately with the weather.

–My wife asked about going out for a special dinner. I thought about it for a second, before saying “hey, why don’t we just stay home.” 

But, maybe there’s still hope for me yet. I’ve decided to turn a new corner to start to seek out the positives.

–When my son asked to come home for the weekend, his first weekend trip home since he went off to college in the fall, I didn’t complain or whine. I simply asked when, where, and what I needed to do to make it happen.

–When Valentine’s Day came, I didn’t whine about the silly man-made nature of the day. I wrote my wife a nice card and surprised her with a romantic night out with just the two of us.

–When my wife brought up a particular sensitive “honey-do” project that will require the help of a contractor, I didn’t automatically mention how much it would cost and challenges associated with the project, like I normally do in these types of situations, causing her to shut down and go silent. Instead, I talked about color schemes and how we might broaden the project and how much enjoyment we would get from the improvements. The difference was noticeable, her face lit up with excitement.

I still have a ways to go, to get past some of my curmudgeon ways, it takes time to drop old habits, but I’m slowly getting there. If you don’t watch, I’m going to go from Scrooge or even Eeyore and turn into a lovable Mr. Rogers or Tigger. Just you watch!

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