Several years ago, when I retired from teaching at my elementary school, the staff got together and did a little “tea party” for me as they usually did for retiring colleagues. They gave me a doll that had a special meaning, one which I had never heard of until they explained it to me. I’ve kept that doll with my Mexican marionettes and I think of my friends at work fondly when I look at it. This poem by Jenny Joseph explains what I didn’t know about retirement at that time.
When I Am Old
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat that 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 am 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 beer mats
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 will have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me
are not too shocked and surprised,
When suddenly I am old
and start to wear purple!
Jenny Joseph
I guess I now belong to the Red Hat Society. One thing I’ve learned is that retirement is the best-kept secret ever! It has been a blast.
May 10, 2017 at 8:47 pm
I love your doll! What a cute and special doll with a lot of meaning!
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May 10, 2017 at 11:19 pm
Yes, she’s having a great time living it up.
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May 11, 2017 at 6:58 am
LOL! You are too, I take it!
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May 10, 2017 at 8:55 pm
Actually, that doll looks like she is doing quite well for herself.
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May 10, 2017 at 11:20 pm
She certainly is!!
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May 11, 2017 at 12:00 am
Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie.
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May 11, 2017 at 8:04 am
Thanks for reblogging this. 😉
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May 11, 2017 at 12:25 am
Yay – welcome to the RHS!!! Everytime I read this poem it reminds me to be that I no longer need to fit into any mould except the one of my choosing 🙂 And purple is my favourite colour!
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May 11, 2017 at 7:54 am
Wonderful, Raili. It took us long enough to feel that way. We need to enjoy ourselves!
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May 11, 2017 at 4:59 pm
Absolutely. I wrote about this very thing early last year. It has an image of a fabulous poster you might enjoy – https://soulgifts.com.au/2017/01/18/i-am-awesome/
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May 11, 2017 at 12:38 am
great doll! love the poem… and that bit about practicing Now… sounds good! hmmm. well, you know, it is trendy to have violet and red in one’s hair these days. I can always say, “I’m just practicing” Thanks for sharing this Anneli 🙂
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May 11, 2017 at 7:55 am
Yes, if it feels good, we have to just “go for it”!
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May 12, 2017 at 5:00 pm
LOL i just got a bold cut and color. hubby’s away. heheehe. its short, angled and the back has a Vivid, cherry mahogany underlayer. that flashes & peeks out from beneath. … I went for IT!
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May 12, 2017 at 8:09 pm
Woohoooooo!
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May 14, 2017 at 10:09 pm
yes! lol
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May 11, 2017 at 1:43 am
i love that poem and congrats!
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May 11, 2017 at 7:56 am
Thanks. I think it’s good for putting a person into the right mental state for enjoying life to the fullest.
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May 11, 2017 at 3:53 am
All of your dolls have great outfits, Anneli. 🙂
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May 11, 2017 at 7:57 am
I hadn’t thought about it – that I have all these dolls. And yes, I like their outfits too. I only had one doll when I grew up so maybe I’m making up for lost time.
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May 11, 2017 at 7:41 am
That was a very thoughtful gift. I’ve tried my best to follow the idea of that poem. It’s just occurred to me it would be a nice thing to have hanging on my wall. 🙂
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May 11, 2017 at 8:06 am
I had the Mexican dolls hanging up because they happen to be marionette types, so that was the obvious place for the purple lady to go. She’s a good reminder to have fun in life.
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May 11, 2017 at 8:17 am
Well, you are certainly not old! And you’re not re-tired. I tell my friends who have changed jobs that they didn’t retire, they reHIRED themselves for a new passion. You are no longer an elementary school teacher, but you are a writer and an editor and a blogger and wear red and purple and whatever color you darn well choose. This is a wonderful time in our lives. Go for it!
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May 11, 2017 at 8:25 am
You’re absolutely right. I’ve never had so much fun and life has been full and productive.
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May 11, 2017 at 2:11 pm
That’s the spirit!! xo
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May 11, 2017 at 2:14 pm
I’m just glad I didn’t know about how great retirement could be when I was 21 or I might have retired then.
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May 11, 2017 at 2:54 pm
Ha Ha. I don’t think we had the resources back then to know and follow our passion, yes?
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May 11, 2017 at 7:52 pm
So right about not having the resources to follow our passions back then.
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May 11, 2017 at 9:58 am
LIFE is a surprising and mostly delightful adventure, what’s next is anticipated , sometimes planned
And always moving on. Friends like you make our lives happier.
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May 11, 2017 at 10:16 am
Thanks, Marsha. Lots to look forward to.
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May 11, 2017 at 12:30 pm
My staff gave me a red hat and told me to wear it with a purple suit. And here I thought they liked me!
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May 11, 2017 at 2:10 pm
They did! They were telling you to go “live it up.”
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May 11, 2017 at 1:55 pm
Wonderful poem. Sweet doll too.
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May 11, 2017 at 2:10 pm
It’s a good reminder to have fun in retirement.
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May 13, 2017 at 7:15 am
the poem and your doll are very beautiful….
have a nice day!
happy mother’s day (for tomorrow)
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May 13, 2017 at 10:38 am
Thank you, Antonio. Nice to “see” you here. Have a great weekend!
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May 14, 2017 at 8:21 am
Have a great day! The poem is funny and I wonder what to do with all my Raggedy Ann dolls my mother made. Maybe I should hang them up you think?
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May 14, 2017 at 9:51 am
Yes! Hang them up so you can look at them every day. Otherwise they’ll sit around being lonely.
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May 14, 2017 at 9:51 am
PS Would love to see a post and picture of them.
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May 14, 2017 at 1:24 pm
I will grant your wish.
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May 14, 2017 at 3:16 pm
I saw that you did! Thank you. it’s a wonderful post and a lovely tribute to your mother.
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May 15, 2017 at 7:29 pm
She is so cute and happy! Retirement is a special treat and my parents were lucky to do this in their fifties, having put their 30 years in and leaving teaching (Mom) and NASA (Dad). As I look at my future, unless I meet someone who saved and has a retirement fund and he likes me a Lot ( 🙂 ) I shall be working during my golden years. Oh well! I’m sure it will keep my mind active and hopefully, sane. 😉
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May 15, 2017 at 7:41 pm
I’m sure you’ll do fine, Robin. What’s not to love?!
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June 10, 2017 at 10:00 pm
Well, I just burned another bridge, I think with a one year long relationship. This meant only two dates a year and sometimes parents who managed to be his “reason” for being busy on one of the two. Oh well, work didn’t hurt people in the past too much. 🙂
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June 10, 2017 at 10:01 pm
Oops, don’t write late at night! Ha ha! I meant two dates a month. Have a wonderful Sunday, Anneli. 🙂
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June 10, 2017 at 10:16 pm
Sometimes it’s better to burn the bridge than feel like jumping off it later. Maybe it was a bridge to nowhere. There are other roads. Other bridges.
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May 16, 2017 at 12:20 am
I love this poem and the doll, I will remember it when I want to wear black on a rainy day,
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May 16, 2017 at 8:32 am
Yes, you can wear red and purple instead. 😉
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