I can honestly say that I think I know why old people become grumpy. I have a belief that the job force is a huge factor as to why the elders in our country are not happy campers. Here’s what I gathered from my research on this matter.
So before I became permanently stuck with the love of my life, I was a working woman. I had the 8 hour Monday through Friday job that required me to be apart of the hustle and bustle and do the commuting thing with other fellow business type people. And yes, I was also one of those people who would tread the streets of the city in Business casual clothes and fashion faux pas tennis shoes. I had to, my feet were getting abused, and btw, that was then, this is now, and I never look back.
Anyways, on top of my full time job, I had a part-job on the side and other social activities. So you can imagine that my life was constantly full of busy motion and no rest. Due to the fact that I never really got the chance to sit down chill, enjoy, and think for myself, I then become somewhat of a robot. I felt that my only reason to live was to work and make that money to pay for things that would only make me happy temporarily. Because of this whole outlook on how to live, I then slowly began to transform into….an adult. As a teenager/young adult. I was a spunky little thing. I would laugh at things, be a jumpy hyper little girl, and be optimistic about everything I touched. Then after I entered my later 20's and worked my life away, I soon became something I always thought I'd never become :: Grown-up.
So months before I get married, and months before I quit all my jobs to become a full-time house wifey, here I was paying bills with a stern look on my face, watching the morning news, doing the popular grown-up gesture : the glance a the watch move, sleeping before 11PM, and being interested in conversations that involved subjects such as mortgages, current events, and what vitamins will best benefit me. I also found that dark circles became my new eye make-up, which only added more years to my youthful face. I also hardly smiled, which allowed me to blend in with my fellow working adults.
Then August 8th, 2009 came along. I was married, unemployed, and ready to start a brand new life. Adjusting from a hectic constant motion to a carefree sleeping in type of life. Within months, I was back to my youthful tude again. I was laughing more, good moods tended to be a frequent visitor, and my bills were done with a more approachable look on my face. I also began to slowly appreciate all the ugly that surrounded me and found beauty hidden somewhere within. I wanted to see more, learn more, explore more. And the main thing, because I wasn't in constant motion, I rested more, which meant just like a re-charged battery, I was full of energy and ready to take on anything that crossed my path. The eye bags went away, which decreased the older look on my face. I was young again.
Now, still being in this house wifey state of mind, and being back in the work environment for the next couple months, I'm able to look and compare these 2 lifestyles at a bigger spectrum. It kind of saddens me when I encounter some of the business people on my way to work. They all look sad, tired, stressed, OLD. They look like the old me. Not a good look I must say. When your life moves like clock work 5 days straight for some odd years, I can see how it can take over the best in you. You tend to forget what's really important in life. Instead of having your loved ones, family, and even yourself as your number one priority, it seems, although many don't really realize this, that the number one priority whilst working is trying to please the higher up. That, instead of working to provide for your family, I can see that some people get lost in working to try and prove who they are and that they are better than the next. AND I truly believe that all this struggle and stress that you go through up until retirement only wears down your delicate body and your youthful mind, only allowing you to resent the youth because they have something you once had. Hence my formula for the grumpy old people.
The reason for this blog is simply this. Life is short. You only have so much time in your life. You never know when you're going to go. Don't let work take over your life. Yeah, it's a big part of affording to pay for the things in your life, but try to find other outlets that will keep you, the old you.
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