Tag Archives: Julie Seedorf

Please Give Me My Discount. I am Older!

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GrannySkewersSomething About Nothing by Julie Seedorf- Published in the Albert Lea Tribune and Courier Sentinel week of March 24.

It might surprise you know to know I am a senior citizen. All right, it’s no surprise because I am always telling you I am old. I happen to like being a senior citizen. I became a senior citizen at the age of 55 when I could order off of the senior menu at Perkins Family Restaurant. I loved it. It was great to get a few benefits for growing older.

One of the perks of growing older are senior citizen discounts. I have heard the arguments against these discounts because many people think senior citizens have a lot of money and don’t need the discounts. I suppose that is opening a can of worms.

There are many senior citizens who struggle to make ends meet. They worked hard all of their life, paid in to Social Security and worked at a time where there were not retirement accounts. They did what they had to do to put food on their table for their family.

There wasn’t any extra to save for that retirement. Many salaries were not what they are today even if you were a business owner. Senior citizen discounts are very valuable to these people.

I was 55 nine years ago. You can do the math to figure how old I am now. I haven’t in all those years thought too much about senior discounts until recently. I wasn’t aware of all the discounts out there for seniors.

I was aware that my local grocery store, Wells Marketplace Foods, offered a discount for senior citizens on Wednesdays. They are very good about applying that discount without us asking for it on Wednesday. I knew Wednesdays were a big day for those who live in our Broadway Apartments complex as the occupants must be over a certain age to live there. Wednesdays is grocery day for the older generation in my community. I knew the new Kiester Market offers senior discounts, too.

I happened to be in Mankato on a Tuesday and visited their local Hy-Vee store. I presented my coupons to the clerk, I am a coupon shopper and the clerk asked me if there were any other discounts. I looked at her with a confused face and she leaned forward so as to not embarrass me or her, just in case she was wrong, if I wanted to apply my senior discount. Of course, I did. Apparently at Hy-Vee in Mankato Hilltop and downtown they have two days where they offer senior discounts. I believe they are Monday and Tuesday.

I started thinking about all the discounts I might be missing. I started asking around. Juba’s in Blue Earth quit senior discounts in favor of spreading the discounts around in the place of discounts on gasoline.

The Hy-Vee in Owatonna offers senior discounts on Tuesdays. Hy-Vee in Albert Lea and Austin does not offer senior discounts, nor does Nelson’s Market Place. They may have other offers in place that I do not know about. However, Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits in Albert Lea does offer a senior discount. Check with the store for the day.

I have started asking each business I visit and make a purchase if they have senior discounts. I learned that at most places you have to ask. I have received a senior discount at Applebee’s and found out that starts at age 60. I could have had savings for many years as I dined in their establishment. I didn’t ask. Cost Cutters, a movie theater, Michaels and Herberger’s are a few other places that gave me a discount recently. Discounts vary by city and state. Many companies leave their discount plans up to local stores which is the case with the Hy-Vee chain.

It is no secret that I am doing freelance writing work and recently I have been asked to do a column twice a month called “Senior Cents” for one of my gigs.

I am excited to find out what all is out there for someone that is “older.” I will be researching restaurants, hotels, businesses and Internet for what is available for seniors in the southern Minnesota area.

I am excited to be able to help senior citizens save a little money and hopefully along the way I will meet many new people like myself. We’re not getting older; we’re getting better and having fun doing it.

After all as Doris Roberts quoted, “The minute you’re born, you’re getting older. Who can argue with that?”

 

You’ve Linked to Me, Now What Do I Do?

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joyfullMy world has opened up since my book Granny Hooks a Crook was published and since I started investigating all the social media that is out there. It can get confusing for us older adults that spent most of our lives writing letters and communicating with a phone system that was attached to a wall. I am a dreamer and I love the new technology most of the time. My problem is that I love to explore new programs and new ways to connect with the people and my readers.

You might say that is a good thing, right? Maybe but…. I try too many things too fast so I know a little about a lot and not a lot about a little. Ooh, I have a new Grannyism to add to my Fuchsia, Minnesota cups in my Hermiony store at Zazzle. As you can see, and it happens with many creative minds, mine is scattered here and there with thoughts that randomly pop into my head that have nothing to do with anything I am writing about. Back to the little but not a lot.

A few weeks ago I decided I should have a book trailer for my kids book Whatchamacallit? Thingamajig? What did I do? I tried a new program. It took me days to get my project done because I had to learn a little about this new program that I loved in order to finish my project. The book trailer is kind of cute, not the best, a little long, but it was so much fun.

My scattered mind is now going back to the social media. I joined Linked In, Stumble Upon, Tumbler, Reddit and I probably forgot a few other ones that I thought I needed to join. And I probably didn’t put the correct names because ahh… I can’t remember them all. I already belong to Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and WordPress. I have started receiving invitations on  Linked In. I wasn’t sure what to do with them. People have recommended me. Recommended me for what? I wasn’t sure and I knew the people that recommended me so it must be the thing to do. I wasn’t sure I needed a Linked In Account because I always thought that was for corporate types not Granny writers. I see it is for more than the corporate suits. But then… I only know a little about the site.

And I can’t forget about Google. It keeps changing and adding and confusing me. But I do love Google at least the parts of it I can figure out.

I don’t accept everyone on some of these media sites. I don’t need to expand my world to solicitations or things that make me feel worse, and I don’t need to have thousands or millions of Twitter followers so I don’t follow people that offer me more followers. I can’t figure out the reason I would want to follow millions of people. I like to read what people post. I only want sincere followers and people I can follow back that expand my world in a positive way.

Social Media is great for writers. I am grateful I can send my writing off to editors that correct my bad grammar since it is not my strong suit. I am grateful for social media because it is crucial for getting the word out on our books. The best part for me is being able to connect with my readers. Also I joined some writers groups on Facebook and have made many new friends. There are so many talented and fun people out there.

I was feeling anxious about joining too many things and not keeping up. It was causing me stress. I felt behind in my knowledge. I was stressing on all I had to learn. I had pieces of this and pieces of that. And then……and then……the thought hit me that I may never put the pieces together just right. I may Stumble, Tumble, Tweet, Pin It and whatever else I want to do. All of these things are perfect for a scattered mind to keep it active, to keep it learning and to keep it interesting.  I will never learn it all because if I did the website will change. And here’s the kicker, no one really cares but me.

A few people recommended me on Linked In. Recommended me for what I wondered. The recommendations were good so recommend away until I find out how and why to recommend someone. It felt good to be recommended and to have someone say something positive about my scattered mind.

As a writer these social media sites are important and so are the groups on Facebook. Outside of that is the fact that I need this expanded world to broaden my vision, my friendships and my life. The people I follow, the people I connect with are inspirational, spiritual, creative and positive. I hope I am that to them.

So Stumble, Tumble, Tweet, and whatever else you want to try. Don’t be scared. Have some fun, be kind to yourself. Connect with those like you. Find balance between online friends and off line friends. Learn about far off places, different cultures. Make friends with those in another country. Connect with old friends. If you are older, don’t give up because you are scared and are afraid you can’t learn. Take your time. Be patient. You can learn and you might be glad you did.

I just have one question, you’ve linked to me, now what do I do?

 

On The Road To Iowa!

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Something About Nothing – Column for Albert Lea Tribune, March 17, 2014

On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again. iowa photo: Iowa Iowa.png

Those words from the Willie Nelson song rumbled through my head as we prepared for a trip to Iowa for a weekend of fun with our son and his children. We had not been across the border, down south, well, a little down south, since the beginning of October. Every time we prepared to get on the road again, we had a snowstorm.

I want to share a few thoughts with you about our visit traveling across the Minnesota border to outside of Des Moines. I always find experiences when I travel that direction or at least something that makes me laugh and wonder.

I gave thanks when I stepped out of my car and I could remove my winter jacket and walk around a house on the dormant grass.

I learned that I need to brush up on my Xbox skills so my grandson doesn’t keep beating me in “Madden NFL” and some other crafty game. Of course, it would have helped had he actually explained what I was supposed to be doing and what the buttons meant on the controller.

The first game we played, which I can’t remember the name, his character blasted me right at the beginning, time and time again, and, yes, I quit in protest of not knowing how to play. My goal, I will learn and conquer and surprise him in the future.

I reinforced my opinion of some drivers on the interstate. Some drivers really are idiots.

I know I must remember the correct name of Orange Leaf frozen yogurt. My grandkids think it’s funny because I always call it Orange Peel. The yogurt tastes the same no matter whether you call the place Orange Leaf or Orange Peel. It is yummy.

It is possible when you wake up in the morning and are in a new community, and you realize you can’t stand your hair one more day, that you can walk into a salon and find a stylist that cuts and styles your hair exactly as you wanted it. When panic mode hits and your normal stylist is hundreds of miles away, there is someone who can save you.

Attending the “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” movie I noticed the adult men were laughing louder at some of the nuances in the movie than the children. I wondered how many of those subtle comments my young grandchildren would remember and ask later on what they meant. Why do movies for kids now have to have suggestive comments in them for adults?

It is possible to meet new friends in strange places. Another grandmother and I bonded at our grandchildren’s gymnastic practice over exercise. We decided the frog hop and the “pull the pad by your toes as you crawl across the floor” — we didn’t know the real name for the exercise — would be perfect for us to try at home. We agreed we wouldn’t let anyone else watch us. We decided to skip the upside-down-against-the-wall exercise as we felt we are a little balance challenged and our heads are dizzy enough without turning upside down. The strange thing about talking to this new friend was that it felt as if we had known each other a long time. I hope we meet up again.

I came away from a conversation about Sunday school with my grandchildren wondering why we don’t take kids’ advice when they have suggestions for making learning in Sunday school more interesting. They have some good ideas.

I concluded that unless we can figure out a way to turn off the electronics it is going to be a hard sell to turn children into readers in this gadget world of ours. Thank goodness for teachers who assigns their class reading assignments where the kids have to read at least 20 minutes every evening. Maybe in that short space of time something will spark a love for reading so they want to put aside their gadgets and get lost in the words and pages of books.

I learned on this trip that my 11-year-old granddaughter is a good cook. Not only can she cook, she makes it look like the enticing food on the cooking shows. My mouth still is watering from her scrumptious French toast and strawberries and cream.  She, unlike me, has the patience to stand and nurture what is cooking instead of walking away and ignoring it until she thinks it is done. She taught me that if she can be patient while cooking, I can too.

As we traveled the road back to Minnesota in the nighttime hours, I became aware of the number of people who have died on the freeway this year in the state of Iowa. Signs over the freeway in the darkness at various points in the road flashed those numbers and warned us to drive safely.

As we came back to Minnesota that night I looked at the beautiful stars in the sky and the brightness of the landscape at night because of the snow and marveled at the differences a few hours can make in our lives.

I thought back to my experiences during the weekend and was filled with wonder at how many experiences small and large that we travel through in our lifetime. The tiny pieces of moments and experiences weave together to change something about us, however small. We may not notice, but we are changed by the moments not just the hours and days.

“Miracles come in moments. Be ready and willing.” — Wayne Dyer