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Do I Really Need an iPad?

By Bunny Shulman August 5, 2014
Let me be completely truthful with you. I have iPad envy. And why is that? I have asked myself this very question at least a dozen times over the past weeks. Well, here’s the simple answer. I simply desire one of those sleek, efficient pieces of techno stuff that everyone I know has… and that includes my husband, my grandson, my daughter, my son-in-law, my BFF – shall I go on?

Several years ago I purchased a birthday gift for my husband and I thought: "good, now he’ll do his own research, answer his own e-mails, and check his own Facebook account." Then I was introduced to the Surface and purchased one as a gift for my grandson. I literally fell in love with being close to a Microsoft device which was so familiar. Some one I know and love definitely needs this as a gift.

I was hooked by all the things it could do for my grandson; school work, write for the school newspaper, challenge his parents. Yes! Yes! Maybe he’ll let me use it. We could share in its many features. This very idea boggled my mind. Then, lightning struck! I’m sure you’re all wiser than I was. It took me a bit of time till I realized – you got it – my beloved iPhone and a Microsoft Surface will not talk to one another. SO – my unrequited yearnings turned back to the iPad. Let me be real honest. I don’t need to buy an iPad. I sit here working on an ancient desktop; the keyboard needs to be replaced, the monitor is on its last leg and the wifi needs to be upgraded. But, it functions. Alright, it functions. You and I know right up front that is not good enough!

Then there is my Kindle. I worship my kindle. Loaded with every novel I fancy at any given moment, with my Paperwhite I can even take it to the beach an read in the sunlight. So that’s good, right? Yeah, but, it doesn’t have that special feel, that elegant look, that sophistication or that silky touch.
Oh, wait, did I mention I also have a laptop? It’s okay in a pinch, but man is it ever slow. And heavy! It’s far too heavy for me to take it anywhere.

Did I neglect mentioning my iPhone5? I’d be lost without it! There, I’ve said it! My day would not be the same if I neglect to bring it with me, or, lost it. In its tiny space it holds all the ingredients of my lifestyle. Why would I need anything else?

So that brings me back to the advertisement I spotted in the newspaper two weeks ago: An iPad mini for under $200.00. I’m not kidding, that was the ad. I made a mental note of the pros and cons of my actually purchasing another gadget to add to my wardrobe of technological instruments. I can’t say that I’ve wrestled with this decision. I’ve teased myself with the needs and wants and practical application of actually going to the store and charging one to my credit card.

Oh, by the way, everyday I talk about this possibility of my owning a mini to everyone. I felt I would be rewarding myself, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger, til yesterday. My daughter heard the wanting desire in my pleading voice and said, “Let’s just drive around the corner and buy it.” I didn’t wait a second for a change of mind and/or heart. We drove instantly to the store, race-walked to the electronic department, asked a clerk for the mini iPad priced at $199 and were told, “Oh, that sale ended last week.”

Now as I sit here, there are two ways for me to proceed. I could figure that if it had been meant to be, it would have been available. That’s just not my style. Instead, I’ll scour the newspaper and hunt the internet, for a sale. And so, the debate begins again; do I really need an ipad?

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Bunny Shulman is a freelance blogger and the author of five novels all of which, including her most recent, Muse on Madison, can be found on Amazon.com. As the mother of Chief Macaroni Mom, Joyce Shulman, Bunny takes ultimate credit for all things Macaroni.