I’m pretty sure that nearly everybody has a few words in the vocabulary of life that really gets their blood boiling, especially if you have had kids or teenagers – you know words like boring, whatever, really or annoying to name just a few.

For me the word annoying really came to the forefront of my travels of life this past week as I had a family member come visit for a few days, okay for nearly a week, and she loves to tell stories and talk about all the things she has done, places she visited and people she has known, as well as herself.

Don’t get me wrong, as I love my Aunt to the end of time, but we also must consider and remember that she will never be like I may be, with all my stories about my kids and grandkids.  The reason is, she has never been married and had a family, and while she has had one heck of a career working within the world of religious education (she is an ordained minister and holds a doctorate in Christian education) – she just has never had a direct family of her own and no offense to her, but her views and thoughts on life with kids and teenagers will just not be the same as those who have raised them.

Why do I run this background for this posting – it’s because it is necessary when referencing the word ‘annoying’ because when you spend a lot of time with someone or others that just do not have the same life experiences as you, many times we will find them annoying when that is not the case at all.

My aunt visited with the idea of having several days with just my wife and me, and the visit turned out to include a grandson with Asperger’s and two teenage granddaughters whose mother decided to take a road trip instead of spending her weekend with her children.  With all that maybe my Aunt should be the one who was being annoyed, especially when she is not used to all the seemingly out of controlled commotion that goes on at my home throughout the days.  Or, maybe many of you may already be thinking that maybe I should be the one annoyed and I, in all honesty could understand that, except that I don’t like the word annoying and try my very best to never use it in any sentence when possible.

While I can and do understand where my Aunt is and was coming from with her stories, kids and teenagers just do not get it and yes, the word annoying came up several times, more because when she gets rolling it’s like she never stops talking.  Of course, if I lived by myself all my life I would probably talk to myself and then never think about not sharing when I had the opportunity to talk with others.

Annoying by definition is a verb and when described with an object or person is defined as ‘to disturb or bother, a person, in a way that displeases, troubles, or slightly irritates’.  When used without an object or person, annoying is defined as ‘to be bothersome or troublesome’.

How many kids and teenagers do you know that can sit for long stretches and just listen to endless stories about life, places and people they do not know without getting annoyed?  If you know some, then congrats you have been truly blessed.

Lucky for me my two granddaughters have been raised well by my son-in-law and daughter, so they understand that family is family and when you see them, they want to make up for time and will share with you everything and anything they can think of – so be cautious, courteous and just remember that someday you may be the same way.

So while I am not sure this posting hit the spot I intended to, it did get some thoughts off my chest and I know I have many of them right now – but annoying is one that is not only tossed off, but flung to a far corner of my life so it knows that nobody is any more annoying than we can be our self, so just deal with it, listen and surprise yourself as you may actually learn some lessons of life, love and happiness from an old(er) Aunt like mine.

And there you have it, yapping in response to something he may have seen and liked or disliked, a memory remembered or forgotten, in the light of humor or the look of seriousness, no matter what ‘Grumpy Gramps’ has given you his opportunity to get his thoughts ‘off my chest’.  So maybe you can enjoy, enlighten and think about what he may have said.  And if you want, feel free to respond with a comment or two on his blog and ‘Grumpy Gramps’ promises to give you some type of response.  Word of caution, ‘Grumpy Gramps’ has a line that shall not be crossed regarding name calling, racism, hatred or threats and more – and if that line gets crossed, well you’ll see at that point.

As for those wondering about why I call this ‘Grumpy Gramps’, it’s because I have been around the walk of life for a long while now and for those who know me, I have my thoughts and opinions which seem to spew out on occasion much to the chagrin of my wife and a few of my grandkids.  When that happens, the grandkids look at me with squinted eyes and say, ‘being grumpy, gramps’.

To read more ‘Grumpy Gramps’ or ‘News to Know’ bookmark crossdovewriter.wordpress.com and follow the ramblings and insights from the center of the world….

Prayers, blessings and happy thoughts – ‘Grumpy Gramps’.

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