When I an old....

Years ao I read a wonderful poem that beins:

"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple...." The full poem is in the extended post. Now, let us assume that you were asked to make it yours, how would you finish this line:

When I am an old woman (or man) I shall.....

Warning by Jenny Joseph

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
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

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.

Comments

[Cara]

Am I first?? Wooo hooo! Anyway...When I am an old lady I shall prance around in a purple bikini with a martini in one hand and a cigarette in another!

[UV]

Write romance novels and eat Whopper eggs! Oh wait, I do that now, don't I?

Damn, I'm old.

[Jennifer]

...have no regrets.

I have that poem hanging on the bulletin board of my playroom. It's a running theme with my best good friend...we shall wear purple and sip champagne from park benches, in the middle of the morning. And then decide what to do next. I've never heard anyone else ever mention it before. I'm not surprised, however, to see it here.

[Jazzy]

I shall eat dessert first.

[Zinnia Cyclamen]

Be free with my opinions, drink neat whisky, and laugh a lot.

[Busy Mom]

...still be younger than Busy Dad.

[Shane]

...become an eccentric criminal - then blame it on the steroids.

[sleepingmommy]

I shall spoil my grandchildren and my cats in equal amounts. I shall sell the house and travel the country in an RV and my husband and I shall become Motorcycle gramps and granny.

[Bubblehead]

...need a new liver.

[bari]

Thank the good Lord I made it that far!

[Wickwire]

When I am old, I shall make craft things to give to my son, his wife and my grandchildren.

[Isabella]

...always speak my mind.

[Thumper]

...live with 20 cats and chase kids from my yard with an oversized, scary-assed looking broom.

[Kimberly]

... I shall sing whenever and whereever I please.

My grandmother first showed me this poem, which I love. I already wear lots of purple, including the bright purple coat hanging on the back of my chair. While I do not have a red hat, I have a red purse, and turquoise gloves, both of which I love (though not at the same time) with my purple coat.

I also own all of these things, and lots of shoes, in black. Black shoes are the best.

[Duke]

Be a damned old ornery bastard cuz I earned it.

[Denise]

...still refuse to wear ugly pantsuits made of parachute-like material!

[Erin]

diet, because i've made it this far and i turned out okay eating whatever crap i wanted to when i was young.

[catherine]

have no regrets, speak my mind, not worry about what other people think, stop obsessing about my body,and interact with young people to stay young at heart.

[Hot Karl]

When I am an old man...I'll say whatever the fuck I want, to whoever the fuck I want, whenever I fucking feel like it. Why? Because I'm old and I earned the right dagnabit...now don't sass me, ya hear?

[CursingMama]

eat candy bars for breakfast

[Mamacita]

Um, can we define 'old' please?

My mother is a Red Hat lady; bedecked with red hat jewelry, purple clothes, big red hats, the whole nine yards. She's having a blast with it. Meets with her friends at least once a week.

As for me, even though I've had that framed poem on my bathroom wall for many years now:

When I am a REALLY old woman, I won't do the Red Hat thing, because to me, it's just another kind of 'follow the leader' trend. However, in spirit, I've been one all my life. Sigh.

[Shannin]

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming
"WOO HOO what a ride!"

[nat]

When I am an old woman, I shall sit on a rocker on the porch, yelling at the kids to get off my grass. (This is a deal I have with a close friend. If we are sans our partners, we are going to move in together and do this as a pair. We, of course, will laugh our asses off when the kids are not looking.)

[nat]

Hot Karl: already sounds like you are practicing that!

[Cori]

be wrinkly, saggy, and, most likely, overweight. And that's just the way I'll like it!

[Sol]

When I'm old I will still get out of bed looking forward to a really good day.

[milehighdivacyn]

I shall wear socks with my birks

[LadyBug]

...hope to God I don't need Depends. (And that my husband doesn't, either.)

[Christine]

I will look back upon my life and be grateful for all the risks I have taken, for all the people I have loved, for all the adventures I have lived and be grateful for the chance to have lived a full life.

[Tammy]

I love that poem, I teach it in my English classes!
When I am an old woman, I shall travel the world and expect first class service every where I go. I will call my children and guilt them into visiting me, and I will have lilacs in every room of the house.

[Dawn (webmiztris)]

when I am an old woman, I will have lots of cats.

[wavybrains]

When I am an old woman, I will be volunteer of the year at numerous deserving organizations.

[Unga Chunga]

.....have a bunch of happy loud grandchildren clammering for my lap.
Thanks for visiting my site!

[Marisa]

Ummmm, whats old, wont belong in my vocabulary, probably cause I wont remember, I don't now...so watch out for crazy, leather clad Hells Angels walking frame granny. With fat wheels and streamers.

[Janet]

When I am old, I shall eat all the soup and salad bar, early bird specials I want.

I do that now, but I'm just practicing for the real thing.

[SEV]

When I am an old man I shall....
be happy ruling the universe, having understood it first..

[Sigmund, Carl and Alfred]

When we are old, we shall tell people what we really think of them.

[InsanePreschoolMom]

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple. That's actually what I would say, because I love purple and am looking forward to 21 years from now when I can wear a purple suit and red hat with the Red Hat gals.

[rory]

What a beautiful poem.

When I am an old woman, I shall never wear my hair in a bun. Ugggh.

[MeMaw Lynn]

I am old and do all the things y'all said already. That may or may not include diapers. Hehe. FYI:
The movie The Color Purple was named after that poem!

[suse]

...treasure each wrinkle and line knowing that they are the marks of a life well lived.
...forget pantyhose, pinchy-toed shoes and eating liver because it's good for you.

[Plainruthy]

I love this poem...My daughter belongs to the Red Hat
Society., but I love the poetry because it says what I
feel...
Thank you , Ruth

[Mamawbear]

When I am an old Lady, I will count my blessings, forgive myself for past mistakes, just as God has forgiven me. I will love my husband, our kids, grandkids and great grandkids and I will tell people about God and his love, even if it isn't politically correct.

[dreama]

when my grandmother turned 65 she turned into the lady in the purple coat proudly proclaiming she was 65 years old and could do what she wanted.
I, myself proclaimed the same sentiment at 50, but then i always wore purple.

[dreama]

when my grandmother turned 65 she turned into the lady in the purple coat proudly proclaiming she was 65 years old and could do what she wanted.
I, myself proclaimed the same sentiment at 50, but then i always wore purple.

[seasidenan]

This is a great poem and I love it.

I want to be a purple coat and red hat lady when I'm old, but when is that?

I think 'old' is a state of mind, and these days what was once considered old is now considered prime of life. An aunt of my husband once told me she would go into an old folks' home when she was old.....she was a few days short of her 90th birthday at the time!

So however old or young you are, keep smiling! Remember, a smile is a curve that sets everything straight.

[Lizzie]

This is me! I have to be this person when Im old, lots of people say Im well on the way to it now and Im only 39! If Im not like this I will feel very short changed indeed. Its my mission!

[ONELILOLADY]

BEEN LOOKING FOR THE REST OF THIS POEM. HAD HALF OF IT AND YOU KNOW HOW CURIOUS OLD LADIES ARE........I WANTED THE OTHER HALF. THANKS

[Sarah]

When our mother died 2 years ago at a glorious, well lived, 85, I wore a purple shirt and my sister a red dress at the viewing. She loved this poem and qouted it often. ( esp. the spit part). Her "circle" laughed thorough their tears when they saw how we dressed. We knew how to celebrate her spirit.

[chrissie stokes]

please can anyone tell me the author of this lovely poem.