A Tale of Two Multivitamins

One-A-Day:  Meet Judith, not Judy or Ju-Ju for short, she prefers to go by the name that was given to her at birth which is just simply...well, Judith. She’s 65 years old and lives in a small rural town where the closest gas station is about 15 miles up the road. She lives alone with her pet cat named Rumor who’s about 8 years old. She’s had him since she was a kitten and they have grown very fond of each other over the years. She treats him as if he’s her very own child, as she never had the chance to have any of her own. She lives a very simple life, now just having retired of being a teacher for almost 40 years she’s ready for a break. Despite not being as mobile as she used to, she still manages to take her multivitamins One-A-Day tablets. She has always preferred the “traditional” forms of the tablet and doesn't care for how they make the new-type of intake methods such as powdered mixtures, chewables or gummies. She’d rather just have a full glass of milk or meal and digest the pill in one sitting – call it a day.

She likes how the One-A-Day tablets tend to have a variety of supplements, especially for those who are older as herself. She used to take Centrum but since a lot of her friends and family take One-A-Day's, she thought she’d give it a shot. To keep herself busy now where she’s not working full-time and lives solo, she’ll go on simple walks either on her own or with neighbors around the block. Her great-niece bought her an iPod not too long ago to update her to the “real world of technology”. So she’ll listen to her classical music and some soft rock tunes while going on her walks. Judith recently joined a gym not too long either and though she doesn't work out nearly as much as she used to, she still will like to get some type of cardio and weight resistance training in as part of her routine. She’ll try to go at least 1-2 times a week, if she can get a friend to go with her that would be even better. Her eating habits are better than they used to be. She quit drinking not too long ago and used to be a hard core smoker. She’s been completely straight edge now for about 10 years and it’s definitely much easier now than it was in the beginning. All in all, she’s very cautious on her eating/drinking and dieting habits in general. 

Judith may have the occasional steak and fries, but only for special occasions if she’s meeting with family or friends, dining out or something. She tries not to splurge too much as she doesn't want to lose whatever figure she still has left. Her meals usually will start with a salad, especially for lunch and dinner. She’s never been a huge breakfast eater but she knows she has to have something to take her One-A-Day supplement with. So she may just have a piece of apple with some cheese or maybe a bowl of cereal. When her sister comes to town, they’ll go to this special diner the next town over where they used to go to as kids and that’s when Judith may want to splurge a bit and get her eggs, bacon, and pancakes. 

To pass time, Judith likes to sew and knit while watching her daytime talk or game shows on tv. She used like to watch the soaps before they took off All My Children – that was always her favorite. She hates the fact that reality tv has taken over cable so she pretty much shuts the tv off once Jeopardy is over at 8:00pm. Also on Thursday nights, she’ll attend Bingo at her local Baptist church down the street and meet a few of her friends there. It was something she used to like to do with her best friend – who was almost close to being her husband, but he had an unexpected accident about 15 years ago and she just couldn't break from that. She doesn't mind being single though as she has a lot of family that live close by and she’s a very sociable person. Plus her cat Rumor is VERY needy so he soaks up a lot of her time too. 

VitaCraves:  Mary-Jo, she likes to be called MJ so as not to confuse her with her mother or grandmother for that matter. Mary is after her mother and Jo is actually short for Josephine who is her grandmother. Her parents clearly decided to get creative - so in turn she likes to be called MJ and her friends think it’s pretty cool. She’s 25 years old and just a few years out of college living in a suburb outside the city, but not in the "sticks", so there is some civilization. She was never huge into taking her vitamins, used to hate taking the Flinstone chewables as a kid and since then she’s never been big into taking supplements. In college pretty much her supplements were consumed of food and alcohol J. Now that she’s “grown up”, she’s become more physically active, going to the gym regularly -  well about 2-3 times a week, and will take VitaCraves which her friends and doctor referred to her a few years ago. Ever since she was a kid, she’s LOVED gummie-worms and gummie-bears so she figured why not give these a shot and she likes them so much better than the chewable tablets. Her parents have tried to influence the Centrums for Women or the One-A-Day but she’s never been a huge fan of the pill as her stomach will get upset if she doesn't get to have a big meal. Whereas with the VitaCraves they’re so much easier to digest and you don’t necessarily have to have a meal to take them. She loves to go out with friends, especially to the bars and clubs, she’s sort of seeing someone but not sure how serious it is as it’s only been several months of dating.

They might meet up a couple times a week and he’s very active in the gym and church which influences her to do the same. They have similar music tastes too like R&B, Alternative, and Hip-Hop. Another form of exercise she knows that will make up for the gym is definitely going to the clubs and dancing. She loves to dance; even as a kid her parents would have her in ballet and jazz classes which were her favorite. During her downtime, she’ll read a book, watch tv, bowl/pool, mini golf or go to the movies. She’s a huge fan of Redbox especially and Netflix. MJ is definitely a busy person though, so it’s very rare she’ll have downtime to herself. Occasionally she’ll also go jogging with her pet dog, Scout who’s a Rottweiler. They’re of course known to be “rough around the edges” but he’s a very sweet dog and is very close to MJ. They’ll go jogging and sometimes her dad will tag along too – she still lives at home, which she’s desperately looking to move out in the next year or two. 

Unfortunately her job status isn't where she’d like to be, however. Who would've thought that being a Business major, would be so ‘vague’ in getting jobs this day in age?? Right now she’s just working part-time being an admin assistant for this architectural firm in the city. She doesn't have a car at the moment, so she takes the commuter rail and will get picked up/dropped off by family or sometimes friends that may be around. Her dieting is so-so. It has gotten a little better since college but still could improve. Because she doesn’t have much of a filter, she’ll be sure to take her VitaCraves and have at least one healthy item everyday that’s some color of the rainbow – whether an apple, orange, lemon in her water, whichever. She’s definitely a huge foodie though. MJ has a younger sister who’s very opposite of her and kind of does her own thing, but they’re closer now than they used to be when MJ was in school. Being just a few years apart you’d think they would be close and hang out all the time, but still they have their differences in what to do for fun. To gain some more income, MJ will also babysit and nanny from time to time which she’s done for years. It’s a good reminder for her on why she can wait to have children at this moment in her life <smiles>. They’re a good way to keep her active as well.

The person I would relate to the most is actually a little tough because though I’m closer in age to MJ, I feel that some of Judith’s qualities I may relate to more. I am similar in age to MJ and love to keep busy, eat my VitaCraves, am close to family, friends and a huge foodie. However, I also would play Bingo (if there was a church near me that hosted), and love cats. I used to have a Rottweiler in real life as a child, but right now I just have a cat and birds. I like my quiet nights of wining and dining as relates more to MJ and like my big breakfasts, which I guess can tie into both personalities. I remember back in the days of working part-time and I also babysit from time to time as well now – even being full-time just to make extra money. I’m also trying to move out as similar to MJ and am seeing someone who I’m in a serious relationship with. Poor Judith lost her love a while ago but still doesn't mean someone else wouldn't come into her life <smiles>. I’m a huge breakfast diner person like Judith - then again, I like big breakfasts in general. So all in all, I’m a tie between both lifestyles – oh and when it comes to music, I definitely am similar to MJ but surprisingly enough I used to like soft rock back in middle and high school which is a bit different some may think, haha.