I’ve never exactly been the target audience for Marie Claire magazine. I describe it as very “Sex in the City,” and I don’t live in The City, among other things…
Nonetheless, I’ve been a loyal subscriber for close to 10 years.
I’ve never owned a pair of Louboutins, or paid more than $100 for a handbag, but the fashion and the photography is still interesting to me. I have been introduced to several new artists and authors from their “Must Do” lists, including Amos Lee, and that alone justifies the subscription fees I paid over the years. And I always appreciate the focus on women’s issues, particularly around the world.
My subscription is up for renewal, though, and I’ve been dragging my feet in writing the check. I have more magazines coming each month than I can feasibly read, and should this one continue to make the list?
Last Thursday was a cold and dreary day. The rain set in early and continued all day without a break. Hubby wasn’t going to be home in time to eat supper with us, much less give me a break from the daytime routine. I had staged more picnics, constructed more puzzles, sang more songs, and read more books than I could count that day.
I.could.not.do.it.anymore.
Digging deep for inspiration, I wondered if the girls would be interested in leafing through a magazine with me. Marie Claire was on the top of the heap. The three of us snuggled up together in front of the rain soaked window, the girls eager for something new.
I opened the magazine and began pointing out things of interest…
…purse…umbrella…shoes…hairbow…purse…scarf…purse…shoes…puppy doggy (at last! in a preppy ad also featuring a golf cart)…purse…shoes…flowers…purse…um, oops, let’s turn the page…purse…shoes…not sure what that is…hey, another purse!
The girls were very interested in the new material…they, too, were probably enthralled by looking at something other than zoo animals by that point in the day.
But the experience left me a little “empty”.
Three hundred pages, 247 purses, 189 pairs of shoes, a lot of crazy hair and makeup, and one lone puppy doggy.
I know I’ll miss reading about some of the women’s issues…and I’ll definitely miss the feeling of “sophistication” when that artsy cover arrived in my mailbox each month…
…but for this stage in my life, I think magazines like Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and Parents are more suited to me.
So Marie, it’s not you, it’s me. Keep on keepin’ on, though…with your purses and your shoes and your relative lack of puppy dogs.
Maybe I’ll be back one day, to check out the latest handbags – when I’m no longer toting a ginormous diaper bag – and get some recommendations on new music to explore – when I have time to listen to music, that is.
Ticker
12 comments:
Oh, I can so totally relate! I never read Marie Claire, and in fact, my only real memory of them is when that horrible blogger wrote the article about "fatties" on their website. I have been a longtime subscriber to Glamour though, and lately, I can't get over the shallow articles and page after page of advertisements and fashion trends that will NEVER be found in my closet (or in most of Alabama, for that matter).
My mom gave me a subscription to Good Housekeeping last year for Christmas and I have recently started reading her Better Homes and Garden. They are much more suited to my life right now! : )
Oh how our needs, wants and desires change once we become a mommy! So totally worth it! I agree one day we can visit those pleasures again! Until then I am very satisfied with the family magazines! Except for my lost of control at the check out line for a gossip magazine! I know loser, right?
So how many do you subscribe to? :)
I don't subscribe to any but if I had to, I'd subscribe to our Ideas magazine - it's like Real simple, but about R10 cheaper :)
That's how I felt after I got married but my Cosmopolitan magazines continued to come. I felt so out of the loop and never renewed my subscription once it expired.
Now I get Good Housekeeping, Parents, Redbook, Women's Health, Family Fun and People. Yes, People is still on my list. That's my guilty pleasure and I look SO forward to it every week. Plus, the kids get a kick out of seeing Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga pics in the magazine.
You just wait....LOL!!
Don't worry. Even if you don't renew, they'll continue to send it to you for at least another year.
I just started getting family circle and parents. For some reason getting them in the mail made me feel older than I ever have before. :) Yes, our priorties do change. I need to start getting a crafty magazine just for me I think. Something not centered around little people.
Very interesting!! I love the part where they enjoyed reading it with you though. Good idea to mix it up. Perhaps you will find a more "common ground" mag for you all to enjoy!
I feel the same way about Glamour. Been getting the magazine since I was 14 years old I think...isn't that crazy?? it was a gift from someone first and then i liked it through college and still enjoy it - but find that it oftens sits at the bottom of the pile of the newspaper and parent magazines.
The end of an era to be sure, but it is probably farewell rather than goodbye. So many handbags and shoes, so little time :)
Yup...I can't even think about reading Cosmo anymore for some of the same reasons...it's all so empty!
You'd LOVE Real Simple...it's awesomeness!
Cosmo does nothing for me either anymore. It never really did!
Now I get Parents, parenting, Redbook, Fitness, and US weekly. I get these all just because I keep an eye on magazine deals...I got a year of fitness for like 3 bucks or something crazy like that. :-)
this is funny to me. i subscribe to 2 magazines: cooking light and cooks illustrated. lol. apparently you can tell what i like to do!
besides...those magazines make me feel totally out of style!!
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