Hangin’ with the AARP’s

My Aunt Mi Mi has been visiting from out of town, so I've been hangin' with an older group of ladies (the average age being 74) that I refer to as the AARP's. I am, proudly, an honorary member (a Petite AARP . . . sorta like the Petite Ya-Ya's).

I love my Aunt Mi Mi. She is my mother's only sister, and she is 17 years her senior (imagine the surprise my grandparents must have felt when my mother came along).

Aunt Mi Mi is always dressed to the 9's and looks as if she just stepped out of the TV screen from "Dynasty." She's put 3 husbands in the ground; men of all ages still swoon in her presence. She was shaking her head this last week at the man troubles a young whipper snapper was having. She said, "To catch a man, you have to say you're not interested and run the other way." I had to laugh; I believe the statement, in all its simplicity, to be very true.

I become the designated driver when the AARP's get together. A couple of summers ago, I was driving them to 'Nooga Town, and we lost our radio signal. As I was scanning for a new channel, we came across a rap song. Aunt Mi Mi said, "What is that, an auctioneer?" Again, I laughed.
I like hangin' with the AARP's. I get a new perspective on life, not to mention a renewed feeling of vitality. My Great Aunt Teen, 87, told me over the weekend that I looked 15 years old. Maybe it was the baby-doll dress I had on . . . I'm not sure, but I ingested the compliment like a drug. Of course, Aunt Teen does suffer from macular degeneration, but that's completely beside the point.

My favorite topic of conversation had to be at Friday's hen party that my mother hosted. My proper, southern belle cousin in her 60's, Virginia Ann, began talking of a man, Delmar, who remarried a lady named Belle. Well, the gentleman suffered a heart attack and died on their wedding night. Virginia Ann put her hand on her chest and said, "I just couldn't show my face at the funeral!" Again, I laughed. I'm glad that I am not bound to the societal restraints that tied those women that I love. I believe Delmar went the very best way possible, and I'm sure he died a mirthful man.