Just adding this as a separate category - to add to the "do your thing now, if you never did it before" a/k/a "what will you do when you have time and opportunity to be yourself?"
But the title about purple? A lot of you know this poem already, but I didn't find it in the archives, so here it is:
Title of poem is "Warning" . . .
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick the flowers in other people's gardens . . .
But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
From googling I found out that the poem came first and then the Red Hat societies.
From the Red Hat Society Official Website: (http://www.redhatsociety.com/aboutus/howitstarted.html)
While visiting a friend in Tucson several years ago, Sue Ellen impulsively bought a bright red fedora at a thrift shop, for no other reason than that it was cheap and, she thought, quite dashing. A year or two later she read the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, which depicts an older woman in purple clothing with a red hat. Sue Ellen felt an immediate kinship with Ms. Joseph. She decided that her birthday gift to her dear friend, Linda Murphy, would be a vintage red hat and a copy of the poem. She has always enjoyed whimsical decorating ideas, so she thought the hat would look nice hanging on a hook next to the framed poem. Linda got so much enjoyment out of the hat and the poem that Sue Ellen gave the same gift to another friend, then another, then another.
One day it occurred to these friends that they were becoming a sort of "Red Hat Society" and that perhaps they should go out to tea... in full regalia. They decided they would find purple dresses which didn't go with their red hats to complete the poem's image.
For the men on this site, please do not try this at home.. Wearing a purple dress and a red hat will severely ostracize you in the community. Your life will be in danger, and you might be seriously injured. Leave the red hat at home..
Whenever we are out at a restaurant and a contingent of Red Hat Ladies enters it always makes me smile. I do so wish that Sharon would have lasted long enough to join. She looked beautiful in everything... she could have made purple and red work too.
Daughter gave me a framed, decorated copy of this "poem." It hangs on the wall in the computer room beside and appliqued, fabric "picture" my dil constructed (about 18" square). Both are lovely altho' the fabric ladies appear to be *much* older than I :)
I fell in love with this poem years ago. I, too, have the poem framed and I book of poems along with this one. This poem does remind me of my mother who spent her money on brandy.
I love purple. My desire has always been to have a car painted lavender. My hb won't go for it but maybe when he is gone that will be something I will do.
I am a Red Hatter and why? because I can do stuff..and because of my age, get away with it... I've even started wearing hats to church.. Yes, Phranque, I wear them to Starbrucks,, Where were YOU???....To do something totally off the wall is good for us as caregivers, and to do it with other Red Hat sisters, is a riot.. Some of us are elegantly put together, others, totally, tacky,,that makes the fun. I loved that poem too....Caregivers of the world, stand up and be counted, and go out making a funny fuss of life... Loveya all
A few years ago, my husband and I were in Nashville,Tennessee on vacation. Among other things, we went to the Grand Ole Opry and the Hotel and there must have been a Red Hat Society conference going on. They were everywhere we went and it looked like they were having a blast. They seemed to really love the attention they got from others. I'd love to be a "Red Hatter." By the way, I have the book "When I Grow Old I Shall Wear Purple" and read it from time to time. As I get older I can really relate to it.
I wear purple now, and I tell my kids I am going to take turns living with each one. I am going to throw my clothes in the floor, I am not doing chores, I am playing my music loud, I am staying out late and not checking in,I am sleeping late and going to bed late,and tying up the phone. They just look at me and roll their eyes. Woopie!!!! Pay back time.......
I belong to a Red Hat group. One of my water aerobic friends got me involved. It is a super bunch of ladies and we go to lunch once a month and have lots of laughs. Some of them really get all "gussied" up....I am tame in comparison. I have a red vest, a purple vest, some jewelry and a small "hat". I am not a hat person.....but they let me join anyway....! LOL.....
Bama, I always thought that would be fun...go live with our kids and drive them nuts....oh wait, that might really happen.....Yikes....!
this website has that poem and other cute ones. Reading the one about the mysterious old lady in the mirror made me think of the stories about the man some of your spouses see in the mirror. :-)
Bama, I don't tell my kids I'll live with them, I tell them their father will live with them. When he gets angry at me he tells me "I'll go live with one of my daughters. They'll take care of me!" That scares them, but good! They'd love to have me with them. All of them want me. They know what they have with me, unless I get dementia. I should ask them if they'd want me then!