Cigarette smoking on the beach has always been a pet peeve.
Or how about when you have a lovely view of the waves and then some group parks itself right in front of you even though there is plenty of other spots on the beach?
^^^ This… When you are at a parade or school sporting event and someone who arrives after you stands right in front of you completely clueless that they are blocking your view. A mom of one of my son’s teammates last year would stand right in front of the bleachers to record the event on her phone. I guess she didn’t realize that you can sit and hold up your phone with the same result.
When people or their gardeners use their leaf blowers to blow the clippings into the street rather raking them up. Don’t they evaluate they just end up in the sewer system.
Also irritating when you’re enjoying a quiet camping trip and someone sets up right next to you with a noisy, smelly generator running 24/7 and loud music that goes to all hours with booze freely flowing as well. 
I think it is regional. I grew up in the midwest, but I’ve lived in the Boston area for 30 years. I was in Michigan last year and waiting to get coffee at a Starbucks. The folks at the counter were chatting with one another and the women taking orders were also chatting with all the customers. The line was long; I was cranky and wanted coffee and all I could think was “would you people just shut up and get my coffee”. At that point, I realized I was no longer a midwesterner.
Sitting on a bus or subway when people spread their legs to take up more space than they need to and when they cross their legs so far out people can trip on them.
@Bromfield2 haha, I am in Michigan! And as you go north in Michigan the chattier everyone becomes!
@HImom - that is just awful (#164)! A generator on the beach? Can you find a beach that would restrict that? Maybe a beach that is part of the national park service.
People who let their kids run wild. Especially in my house! I understand that your rules are relaxed since you’re on vacation, but little Johnny and little Jane don’t need to be stuffed full of sugar and up until 2 AM because you want to “give everyone a break”. The rest of us hate it! I still haven’t fixed or replaced all the things that little Johnny broke and I don’t like seeing the marks his sneakers made on the ceiling.
People who say they want to help you plan/give a party you had planned to host, and then try to change the plans and be really CHEAP. If you want to help and participate, trying to cheapen the event and make it a bit tacky is not helpful.
I’m glad to know I’m not alone in my curmudgeonliness! But I just want to mention that some larger children in strollers could have medical, physical or other issues that aren’t immediately obvious. When we first moved to our neighborhood, I silently judged a mom I repeatedly saw pushing her 5-year-old around in a stroller. It was a few months before I learned that the little girl has multiple mobility issues due to her medical conditions and really couldn’t walk far on her own. And she was too big to be carried home when she couldn’t go any further. The mom doesn’t see a reason to restrict their movements because some might judge her, and I respect that.
Neighbors who leave their dogs outside for many hours and do not care that they are barking constantly…
I used to push my D in a stroller to walk her older brother back and forth to the elementary school that was only a block away. He was out of his stroller before age 2, walking everywhere but it was a daily battle with her. every. single. day. so I pushed her in the stroller and every single day the last year before she went to kindergarten I would tell her “kindergarteners” can’t go to school in a stroller, we will walk to kindergarten." She ran track and cross country in HS and now is on her college varsity track team and she has always been active. It just was a battle that was not worth it at the time. She’s also a wonderful young person, not every seemingly wrong decision viewed from the outside ruins or spoils a child. Anyway, I was only about 8 months into parenting my first child when my mantra became “never say never”. I did some things as a parent that I had said before I had children I would never do.
@cellomom2, you could start a thread on the concept of “never say never.” Seems you learned a bit sooner than I did, but isn’t it funny how before we have kids many of us have “all the right answers?” But once we have to live with them every day, things are not so black and white. My kids are in their 20s, and I’m still adjusting my limits.
About the strollers and older kids-- Little legs aren’t as long as adult legs plus they get tired faster. And getting around sometimes with limited time is just plain faster to load a kid into a stroller and go for it. Getting out of the house for errands can be a major effort so why limit an excursion because your kid had no spot to sit or sleep?
But it is true that even umbrella strollers have gotten way too big. I had one that really was umbrella size.
And (while I’m on a roll) standing behind someone in a checkout line chatting with a clerk has been infuriating at times. And yes, I’ve had places to get to and need things to hurry along.
And yeah, once in a while I have more than 10 items for the check out (although I truly do my best)
but they need to OPEN up MORE lanes for check-out.
25 regular cash registers, 6 express lanes, 10 self serve.
And the ratio of whats open? 3 full service lanes open, 4 express lanes, and self serve which is only good for anyone with less than 10 items.
I guess some can think of an excuse for many of the complaints here, if one thinks hard enough. But those noisy little kids get to me too(nicer restaurant). If I go in McD’s I shrug my shoulders and figure it’s what I get for eating in such a kid and family oriented restaurant. But if I go into a nicer place, I think the parents should better appreciate that the other adults chose that restaurant and not McD’s. Sure, people need to eat, but those with children who act as if they are on a playground should eat somewhere else, until those kids have better manners. If the crying persists, someone in management should ask them to quiet the kid, or move to a more remote location, or as a last result, leave. Yes, they have a right to be there but so does every other diner, and they also have the right to peaceful enjoyment of their meal. The right of the offending party ends when their conduct interferes with others’ meals.
@greenwitch, we no longer camp, so the generators don’t bother us anymore, but they sure were annoying between the noise and fumes, plus the bright lights and loud noises.
I agree to not enjoying poorly supervised kids, especially when they lessen the enjoyment of others at restaurants. Our kids enjoyed (and still like) dining out and made sure to behave well so they could be allowed to eat at nice places. Kids allowed to roam while dining can be a risk to themselves and others as well.
I just saw this product online and it made me think of the comments about the not so little kids in strollers. I can’t believe this is a thing?!
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Redmon-for-Kids-Fun-and-Fitness-Treadmill/20847327
Speaking of kids…I really get annoyed when I am in a waiting room and all of the chairs are taken up by young children while adults are standing. Yes, I do get that an occasional child may need to be sitting in a chair due to health issues, but not ALL of them. Sometimes the adults who are standing are not young. I have noticed this much more in the last few years. BTW - when my own kids were young I would have them stand up and offer the seat to an adult.