That Dreaded Piece of Junk Mail

When I get home from work, my routine is generally to throw my bags down on a chair and go through the mail.  Like most people (I'm assuming), I get my share of junk mail.  Most days I don't even look at it; it just goes in the toss bin.  Sometimes I get a little curious (just a little) and I open an envelope that I know contains nothing good.  

I don't know what possessed me the other day to open an envelope.  I knew it was some sort of junk solicitation, but I opened it.  And inside...(wait for it)...was a letter from AARP!  

Now I know the big birthday is just around the corner, but...

The whole AARP thing is a misnomer in my book.  You can join at 50.(Although they start soliciting much earlier than that; or so I am told.  My husband said he got his first piece of AARP mail shortly after he got his first full time job.  He was 20 at the time!)  But how many people are actually RETIRED at that age?  

This may be one of the reasons why the group goes by AARP and not American Association of Retired Persons.  In today's economy, retirement isn't an option for many people, no matter what their age is. Here I am, not quite 50, and retirement is the furthest thing from my mind.  I'd love to plan for retirement (as those commercials are urging me to do), but right now I'm trying to keep my family afloat.  I'm not crying poverty here, as a matter of fact, I'm very grateful for what I have and that I am able to manage to put away some savings.  (Not a heck of a lot, but SOME.  It's certainly not enough to make Suze Oreman happy.) I do what I can and I know there are plenty of other people out there who can't set aside ANYTHING for retirement.  It's just the way it is.

But this post isn't about finances; it's about the dreaded piece of mail.  I am now on the "old" list.  AARP has my name and address.  Soon "old people" mail will be filling my mailbox.  (Which means my mail carrier will actually have to DELIVER mail!  Which is another post for another time...I will say though that I miss Robert, Romba and Diane, my mail carriers of the past who had a work ethic and did their job well.)  Of course, now that I think about it there have been post cards from the local retirement communities that I tossed.  And there were those large envelopes with information on hearing aids.  The world HAS been trying to tell me something, but until the AARP mail came into view, I was ignoring it.

The big day is coming fast.  Yes, I will be 50 and AARP knows it.  I'm torn between running away (I can still pass for mid-40 right?) and embracing it (Does this mean I can get discounts on senior day?).  Maybe I can do both!