In the off chance you aren't familiar with Red Hat Society, it's an organization of fabulous women who have declared they will not go quietly into the night. Their gatherings are easy to spot...smiling jovial women sporting flamboyant red hats and vivid purple clothing. The founder, influenced at least in part by the poem, Warning, by Jenny Joseph knew instinctively perhaps that joy has its roots in play and breaking out of molds.
A refresher of the poem:
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 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.
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I feel a kinship to all those who have declared that age represents freedom and fullness, where playfulness is our earned right and when we quit being ruled by the expectations of others and start living to our own desires. I'm all about that.
My "beef" is that most of the RHS meetings are lady's luncheons at tony restaurants. Forgive me if that doesn't strike me as actually breaking out of any "proper lady" societal constraints. I'm recruiting women who are interested in living a different life, not just the equivalent of a spectator "buying a t-shirt."
I'd like my own society of fabulous women...one that spontaneously meets at ski resorts and bike races and other places where we play hard and push harder than "they" say we should. And where we don't worry about sucking in our tummies, we focus instead on sucking in enough oxygen for the next run, wave, jump, or hill. I know you're out there...wanting to stretch your wings and quit being the chauffeur for everyone else's lives. Take a stand, claim your space, strap on your bucket (a/k/a helmet), and connect with your sisters-in-spirit. Look for the other women, especially those sporting huge grins. Say hi. Say, "Can you show me?" Say, "You new in town?" Say, "You wanna play?" But above all, say "Yes!!" to your own journey.
Look for Bucket Society gathering at your favorite venue.
