Last year for my birthday my Mom got me a present, even
though I told her to just make a donation to a charity. She did make the donation, but she also
bought me a “little something” extra. A
year’s subscription to AARP!
Um, thanks?!?
As early as a few months before I turned 50, my Mom started
telling me that I should join AARP. She’d
mention it every so often. She would try
“selling” the idea to me, telling me that I’d get the magazines, which have a
lot of great articles, discounts to
so many different places, and that I could even save on car insurance or cell
phones. She even mailed me some articles
that she clipped from the magazine to show me just how helpful being a member would
be, which was kinda cool, because nowadays with everything being electronic, my
actual physical mailbox usually just has flyers from the new local Chinese
takeout restaurant.
But, as much as I love the idea of getting 15% off at Denny’s
or a free 12 oz. coffee at Burger King (conditions apply), the idea that I was
old enough to join an organization meant for … well … old
people was more than I was ready for!
But, like it or not, as of my last birthday, I am now an
official, card-bearing member of …. *whispered* AARP! The organization for … well, old people!!
But, I’m not old! In
my mind I still feel like I’m just out of college! I do so many things that someone that’s old
won’t do! And when I was a kid, a fifty year
old person was SOOOOO much older than I am now!
(I know, that doesn’t really make sense, but just go with it.)
So, for several months I rebelled. The magazines and
bulletins would arrive, and get put in a pile in the corner of my living room. I didn’t throw them out because, well, my Mom
got them for me for my birthday. And I
love my Mom! I can’t just willy-nilly
toss something that she gave to me. But to bring myself to read something meant
for … well … I think you see where I’m going with this.
Until, that is, this one day when I had finished a book I
had been reading and didn’t really want to start a new one just yet. (You know how it is when you read a REALLY
good book, and you want to savor the story for a little longer before moving on.) But, what was I going to do on the subway
ride to work? I needed SOMETHING to make
it through that long ride and not have to struggle with avoiding looking at anyone! So, on the way out the door, I grabbed one of
the bulletins.
Yeah, it’s filled with ads for those buttons you press when
you’ve “fallen and can’t get up”, life insurance … with no medical exam
required (woot woot), cell phone plans that come with a free FLIP PHONE (hahahaha!!!), and electric chairs that
get you up the stairs. (That last one
might actually be nice after a long day at work!)
But the bulletins and magazines are also filled with a lot
of great articles. I’ve started to read the pile that I had been stocking, and
have actually enjoyed what I’ve been reading.
I’m learning how to organize my closets, what I should be doing to
protect myself from identity loss, cool places to visit around the world. And, I’m seriously considering one of those
walk-in tubs!
That’s not to say that if I’m reading one of the bulletins
or magazine on the subway that I don’t double check to make sure I’ve got the
magazine open to at least the 2nd page so that BIG RED AARP on the cover doesn’t show to my fellow
straphangers. And I’m still secretly
hoping that if someone by chance does notice what I’m reading, that they will
lean over and say “You’re not old enough to be reading AARP!” But since everyone is making sure they aren’t
looking at anyone else, that hasn’t happened yet.
So, for now, I’ll accept that I’m old enough to belong to an
organization for, well … people who are at least my age, and keep laughing at
the idea of a flip phone!! I mean,
seriously?!?
I agree, "You're not old enough to be reading AARP"
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