How do you know you’re turning into your parent?
Posted by _antfarmer_@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 140 comments
How can you tell when you’re turning into one of your parents? For me, it’s whenever I can’t find my coffee cup and realize I’ve forgotten it in the microwave…again. 🤦🏼♀️
Cereal____Killer@reddit
Suddenly enjoying feeding birds and watching them come to my deck feeders…
Opforsoldier@reddit
I am with you on this one. We put 2 feeders in the front yard several years ago in hopes a few birds would keep the flies to a minimum. Slowly I started noticing the different birds, then came the birders guide, downloading Merlin to ID the calls etc. From my recliner in the living room, I can see our 5 bird feeders now and easily tell a song sparrow from a chipping sparrow or a field sparrow.
Cereal____Killer@reddit
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds are the favorite around here, even with the squirrels 🤣
Opforsoldier@reddit
Black Oil Sunflower seeds are all I use in the feeders and they are popular with all the animals, especially the raccoons. We do not have a ton of squirrels, which seems odd being on the eastern seaboard and having hundreds of forested acres around our property. What we do have are tons of chipmunks, a few groundhogs and a beaver or two.
Cereal____Killer@reddit
I have found that adding a little spice to the seed doesn’t bother the birds (I was shocked how few taste buds birds have and they don’t have a reaction to heat). Depending on the degree of schadenfreude you happen to have, you may find it amusing to see what happens when a mammal with 10x more taste buds and a sensitivity to capsaicin oil decides to sample sunflower seeds muy calente style. The seeds I serve don’t seem to be anywhere near as popular to my squirrel clientele as it is to my avian friends
Smrty-Moose@reddit
This is me. My mom was cold coffee, reheating, I'm cold tea....maybe reheating.
In one of my last workplaces, on the first day of my vacation, I got a group text from my colleagues....just a picture of my tea I'd left in the microwave...oops 🤷🏼♀️
RedSparrow1971@reddit
Ever seen those progressive insurance commercials? I’m all of them
GreyMom13@reddit
me too! especially Lisa. my husband rolls his eyes but I think it's funny.
RedSparrow1971@reddit
My worst offense is the one where the guy can’t help chatting up the valet, because I know I’m doing it consciously because it reminds me of my dad, he’d always tell the valet, “nope, mine was the corvette, try again” - it’s my inheritance to do it
Mtothethree@reddit
LOL my mom left her coffee in the microwave all the time.
this_kitty68@reddit
My mom puts a paper towel under her cups because she doesn’t like the sound the mug makes when it hits the glass tray. I will NEVER, EVER, EVER do that.
CJK_Murph@reddit
Omg this made me remember that my mom didn’t like the sound of the spoon in the coffee so she would tell us to stir softly so we didn’t “bruise the cream” 🤣
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
My mom totally did that, too. I barely even use paper towels except on our cast iron.
AmazedAtTheWorld@reddit
RemindMe! One Year "ask about the paper towels"
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Jason_TheMagnificent@reddit
Raising a teenager, I catch myself saying things my mother said to me 35 years ago, sorry mom 👼
CJK_Murph@reddit
I always warn them. “Gammy’s voice is about to come out of my mouth” 🤣
LollipopGirl923@reddit
I realized it when my Mom and I showed up, to a bbq, wearing matching shirts and the same color shorts! Lord, how I miss that woman. 💜
jk_pens@reddit
Pot belly
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Yep. It’s perfect for my needs. ☕️
jk_pens@reddit
Oh I was answering your question about how I know I’m turning into my parent. My dad had a big belly and now so do I 😅
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Ha ha! That’s hilarious! I totally assumed that you were pointing out a trait that my mug shares. 😆
hkusp45css@reddit
Muttering "trying to light up the whole neighborhood" while turning off lights in rooms nobody is in.
Muttering sigh "Would it kill you flush the toilet...."
Muttering "Of course we can just leave it in the center of the floor, someone will pick it up for you...."
I really just wander around the house putting shit away and muttering these days.
jk_pens@reddit
Are we the same person
hkusp45css@reddit
The tag in my underwear hasn't changed. Have you checked yours?
peterw71@reddit
When I started gardening. It was not long after they died so I never got to share it with them.
jk_pens@reddit
Not to make light of your loss, but there’s a particular way that could be read that is … uh … true crime material.
(And I guess I’ve been listening to too many mystery audiobooks which coincidentally is a becoming my parents thing)
kat_storm13@reddit
My dad just said he should plow me a lot on their land so my boyfriend and I could grow some veggies. The only issue is they live an hour away. I guess I could get a sprinkler with a timer for when they're at the cabin, which is most of the summer.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
That’s so sweet, though! He probably thought you’ll visit more to weed and harvest.
PepperCat1019@reddit
I am so sorry.
Demostecles@reddit
I have become my father.
And that’s the best compliment I can give myself.
Gulf_Coast_Girl@reddit
When I look in the mirror before running out to do errands and I have zero makeup on, hair piled in a messy bun, stain on my shirt, shorts that don't match my sirt and shoes that are super ugly... but super comfy and I think "yeah, this is fine, let's go". 🤣
ONROSREPUS@reddit
That is interesting because my mother had to get all done up just go to to the damn mail box. Seems like the older generation always spiffed up to do minor things. I couldn't care less. I am on the be comfortable side and who cares what you look like.
UKophile@reddit
The rest of the people who have to see you. We care.
ONROSREPUS@reddit
True but I don't care that you care. Sorry. You people that care will no influence me.
UKophile@reddit
This is how you end up being mocked in Walmart photos. Save yourself now. Step it up a little.
justa33@reddit
I think “when did I turn into my mother”
Accurate_Bed3062@reddit
I've lost more coffee this past week than ever before.
ancientastronaut2@reddit
Omg I do this all.the.time.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
I’m glad I’m not alone!
Intrepid_Card8858@reddit
Standing in my front window, wearing my robe, just looking at the neighborhood while I sip my morning coffee. I don't do this every morning but when I do, I instantly think about my mom doing the same thing.
ancientastronaut2@reddit
Hahaha, my mother was the "neighborhood watch". The front window was the kitchen window and she didn't miss a thing.
Sometimes she'd ask "what do you think so and so is doing?" or "who's car is that?" and I'd say idk mom who cares, and she'd get all huffy I didn't want to be her co-conspirator.
Now my husband works upstairs in a room that overlooks the front of the house and he does the same thing. "So and so's trash didn't get picked up", "so and so got an EV"...🤣
TwilightTink@reddit
I melted butter in the microwave, forgot about it for 2 days, and had no clue where it came from when I found it
kategoad@reddit
I was in law school maybe 24, when I first realized it. I ran around with a local band who was experiencing some modest success. I cut out an article from a newspaper, and sent it to them with a note saying something to the effect of "I saw this nice article about you and thought I'd send it to you."
I turned to my roommate and said, oh my god, I'm my mother.
RogerClyneIsAGod2@reddit
My microwave beepbeepbeeps every few minutes when it's done until you open the door.
This does not mean I hear it though. I will nuke that shit at least 3 times some days.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
That would make me completely bananas and ensure that the microwave found a new home! Our toaster oven does that, and it receives so much verbal abuse from my partner and me.
RogerClyneIsAGod2@reddit
Honestly, it's the exact right tone that my metal concert damaged hearing doesn't always hear it
Lucky-Remote-5842@reddit
Mine will beep too but after microwaving my coffee and disappearing to another room, I might come back two hours later and hear that beep, like who has something in the microwave???
Harley_Mom@reddit
Saving bread ties but not a draw full.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
We have a Ridwell subscription which makes saving all the bits and bobs like bread tags totally validating! 😆
RogerClyneIsAGod2@reddit
r/occlupanoids would like a word.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
OMG, there really is a sub for absolutely every damn thing!
ZenSpren@reddit
Knowing what giving up feels like.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
😢
TheFrontierzman@reddit
I mean...that's one old ass lady looking coffee mug.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
😦 Rude! I make pour over and it has a nice wide base so it doesn’t spill.
Jerkstore_13@reddit
I am and old ass lady, and I adore the hell out of your mug!
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Well, thank you!
DangerousLettuce1423@reddit
I think it's a great cup. The pattern on it, the colour, the size of the handle and the cup size itself.
Lends itself to a nice rustic country feeling - a hot mug of soup or tea by a warm cosy fire in winter.
TheFrontierzman@reddit
Where's my mug?
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Have you always been a bully? Or are you getting meaner as you’re aging?
TheFrontierzman@reddit
Yes
AmazedAtTheWorld@reddit
LougieHowser@reddit
my dad was notorious for microwaving his coffee in a plastic cup, he has dementia now. IDK if the two are related, but I am not microwaving any plastic. fuck no.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
I’m so sorry. My mom has dementia and has been in memory care for a year. It is an absolutely devastating disease.
Vegetable_Loan1627@reddit
This happens to me more than I would like.
Centurix@reddit
You can get arrested in the UK for microwaving tea
RedSparrow1971@reddit
As well you should. Everywhere, frankly. Coffee is another matter, you can nuke the shit out of it and never change the flavor profile
ParamedicLimp9310@reddit
When my kids were small, I had a best friend that I was on the phone with all the time. She also had a house full of small kids. We had a running joke of which one of us lost our coffee now and what weird place did you find it. Each of us would lose a mug at least 3 times through the course of the conversation. It's like an Easter egg hunt for adults. Good times. 😂
seathian@reddit
1:40.. start.. hot and ready
Lucky-Remote-5842@reddit
That's way too long for 1/4 cup that I put in there. 🤣
Hey-buuuddy@reddit
One of my wife’s friends says doesn’t like microwaved water.
insecurecharm@reddit
It's not the same. I don't care how long you microwave it or what temp it gets to.
RF-Guye@reddit
It gets that non-ionizing 'tang' to it. I prefer my water uninradiated...
froction@reddit
Better drink it in pitch blackness inside a Farraday cage, then.
kat_storm13@reddit
I should do a blind taste test between kettle and microwave. The only issue is I can't drink tea without some type of sweetener. I guess I could figure out how much I use and then have my boyfriend add it in lol
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
We do have an electric kettle. We aren’t total heathens!
pianoplayerforhire@reddit
My gf(62) got me(53) to start doing this all the time a few years back. Never did it, but just got used to doing it.
Missmbb@reddit
Omg! This is me all the time! My kids are always finding my cups there.
Lower_Classroom835@reddit
I thought you were microwaveing ice cream 🍨 🤣
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Really? That WOULD be weird!
Lower_Classroom835@reddit
I was told that's a typical GenX thing, so when I saw the picture, that was my first thought 🤣
AmazedAtTheWorld@reddit
Every time you find it, rewarm it. Once it's been rewarmed at least 4 times, just drink it like warm.
FlippingPossum@reddit
Scouting out the bathroom location when in New places.
Fair-Wishbone-1190@reddit
Well I checke the gas prices everywhere I Go like my dad used to, I don't let anybody touch the thermostat now. And I've caught myself saying random catch phrases that my dad used to say, it's very odd but in a way I love it because I don't mind turning into my dad he was a great man.
kat_storm13@reddit
Have you heard of the Gas Buddy app? I don't go far out of my way to save a few cents, but if it's gas stations near each other, or if I can take a different route home that's about the same distance it can be helpful
Fair-Wishbone-1190@reddit
I live in a very small town that only has a few gas stations and I'll have a monopoly on them so it goes down all the other ones go down really help me much unless I travel tomorrow. Which is hardly ever
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
I use Waze constantly due to city traffic, and it had gas prices as well. I typically only buy gas at Costco if I can swing it.
troisarbres@reddit
Is your beautiful mug microwave safe?
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Yep! It says that it’s microwave and dishwasher safe on the bottom, but I always hand wash it since I use it daily.
Kona_Big_Wave@reddit
That was my first thought as well. 😆
voidchungus@reddit
Off topic but I love your mug. Where did you get it??
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
I love it, too! I make pour over coffee most mornings, and it’s nice that it has a wide base so it doesn’t get knocked over. It holds up to 16 oz/470ml, but my pour over contraption only makes 12 oz/360ml.
It’s from Cost Plus World Market from Christmas time. My daughter got it for me to replace my previous favorite mug from there whose handle broke off. I was devastated! Probably another sign that I’m growing old….
voidchungus@reddit
I get it, I have favorite mugs and would be devastated too! Thanks, I'll look for these 😊
MaximumJones@reddit
lskerlkse@reddit
better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
And this is how our homes fill up with crap that our children don’t want.
herbal_thought@reddit
For me its watching so many political TV shows, as a kid my father always was watching the news, 60 Minutes or Face the Nation, which I thought was so boring but now I am glued to the screen watching Lawrence, Jen and Rachel. I am now my father...
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
I’m the political polar opposite of my parents, so I’m watching The Daily Show and Colbert if I watch anything these days.
Chancevexed@reddit
Is that a Russell Hobbs microwave or do all microwaves look the same?
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
I don’t believe so—a friend gave it to me when our previous beast of a microwave bit the dust.
Mugwumps_has_spoken@reddit
they all look the same
Randeth@reddit
That microwave is so clean on the inside I don't really believe it's ever been used. 🙂
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Ha ha! Well, it’s tiny and we don’t use it a ton, so that helps. It’s also pretty low wattage, so it takes ages to heat anything, which I’ve found really helpful to reduce the amount of splattering. Our previous microwave DESTROYED everything!
Kyauphie@reddit
😆 Yick! Nah, I can see the bits and smears adhering to the walls; I'd have to do a vinegar wipe down before using that. It would bother me more than someone leaving time on the microwave after finishing instead of clearing it.
theShpydar@reddit
Right? My microwave is like that scene from the Simpsons where Marge cleans the kitchen, the door swings closed, and then when it swings open again, mess everywhere 😆
JediKrys@reddit
You’ll NEVER catch me microwaving ma coffee. 🤮
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Well, I’d love a fancy heated mug, but alas. I had to be off coffee for six long, miserable years due to esophageal ulcers. My GI doc told me I could have one cup a day, but I find I have to pace myself…and it gets cold.
PepperCat1019@reddit
I agree, but who said it was coffee?
JediKrys@reddit
You’ll NEVER catch me microwaving ma coffee. 🤮 well this goes for anything but soup.
PepperCat1019@reddit
Yeah, I don't even put my tea in the microwave.
anatomy-princess@reddit
When my mom passed and I was cleaning out her house, I found her favorite tea cup in the microwave! It made me laugh and gutted me at the same time.
_antfarmer_@reddit (OP)
Aww, that’s so bittersweet!
ColaPepsi2712@reddit
❤️
baconcheeseburgarian@reddit
The clean microwave is a dead giveaway you've become like your parents.
The coffee being left is just confirmation.
kat_storm13@reddit
My microwave and refrigerator aren't always completely clean, but they are much cleaner than my parents. Their whole house hasn't been as clean since the two housekeepers left. Regular cleaning every Saturday. (By housekeepers I mean my sister and I.)
baconcheeseburgarian@reddit
My microwave looks like Abu Ghraib. Biological matter is splattered against all the walls. My wife wont even cook in the thing, she's moved on to the air fryer.
YellowBreakfast@reddit
...reheated my single cup of coffee for the 3rd time today...
RF-Guye@reddit
Ya, but I was playing hooky from work and sipping mine with Grand Marinier.
namtilarie@reddit
You are warming up coffee
Outrageous_Lab375@reddit
Oh yes! I've been doing this lately and it always makes me laugh. My mom did that all the time too, and it reminds me of her :)
LayerNo3634@reddit
Whenever I see a Progressive insurance "don't be like your parents" commercial. So funny, but so true.
ShivRoy13@reddit
I had a “Get off my lawn” moment with a couple of neighborhood kids. We just needed a couple of days to let our new lawn settle. I laughed afterwards, I couldn’t believe I had that moment, haha.
Own_Celebration5462@reddit
I started forgetting where I left my coffee the moment I became a parent, in general.
Sufficient_Stop8381@reddit
Fart like a Clydesdale, forget stuff, go outside with no pants, forget stuff, yell at squirrels, forget stuff..
ButterscotchAware402@reddit
I feel so seen with the going outside with no pants on and yelling at squirrels.
ONROSREPUS@reddit
Well shit I have been old, by these standards, for 25 years already.
breddy@reddit
I just received a new sturdy BIFL hose nozzle and I’m super jazzed about it
justa33@reddit
I bought a new house almost 2 years ago and this winter the hose holder got knocked over and i learned it had a storage compartment because 2 nozzles and a sprinkler head fell out ! It felt like I discovered a treasure ! I’m very old now
breddy@reddit
Winning!
BeebsMuhQueen@reddit
Yes! I’m super thankful for ours. I used to walk back and forth to the creek to water almost every morning. As my pain is progressing, I’m thankful for the small things like a hose nozzle! Mist and shower setting rocks
worstpartyever@reddit
I am not joking when I say I need to know the brand you purchased. I got something off Amazon that turned out to be made for children or something -- it was so weirdly small in my lady hands.
breddy@reddit
Eley!
Rare-Confusion-220@reddit
I'm Def not. Not even close (to start they are big microwave users, we haven't had one in like 15 years).
ellewynn_martha@reddit
When I say out loud or just in my head we have food at home so I don't buy fast food or get a fancy coffee when out driving. It's called being responsible but I feel weird doing it.
SWNMAZporvida@reddit
Knowing the mailman schedule
sobuffalo@reddit
I couldn't find a blue box, so I use the red flag on the mailbox to send mail.
Normal512@reddit
I know when I see your picture and feel compelled to tell you that your items will heat more evenly and quicker if you place them on the edge of the turntable in the microwave. Apparently the center gets less microwave action, and I'm sorry for being the guy in the insurance commercials.
Mean-Skirt-4812@reddit
I’m grateful you’re turning into your parents just for this helpful comment!
corrcom@reddit
I see my wife leave the cabinet doors open just like her mother