I have a huge birthday soon . I like this 'pome.' It reflects the right attitude I should have. Bear with me!

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.

(It’s called “Warning” and was written by Jenny Joseph (1932- ) at age 29.)

I have been practicing for a while, as you know.

That poem is the "mantra" of the Red Hat Society.

I didn't realise you had waited!

Old age is beginning to get me down.

I am only a `borderline senior' at 55, so far so good.
I am concerned about saving enough money for retirement though and getting work in a preferred field.
Age discrimination DOES exist!
This goes for multiple work sectors

Well some people manage to continue working well into their senior years. The mother of one of our former moderators worked into her early 90s and one of our current moderators is still working fulltime well into her 70s but hopefully will be 'retiring' soon.

I admire people like this, I know that I couldn't do it. A few hours voluntary work is about all that I do these day and then for only half the year.

That's me.
Sue I am sure more people would do it if they were blessed with reasonable health like I am. I have only been ill in hospital once (2009) unless you count having children which was ghastly and another thing altogether.
I have worked all my life , and quite hard, got rid of 2 husbands, brought up 3 kids. The main thing keeping me going is my brain (Do not smirk Mrs M)and my sense of humour. Nothing should be taken too seriously. Have fun when you can. We are only here a short time after all.What I have had is fun, definitely. Said brain is kept going by people, and this site.
People,please dont let the forum side of this site slip.Its pure gold. You meet treasured friends, like you Sue and my much adored Gatsby as well as all the other little treasures around here. The people here are as important as the quizzes. Believe me. So respond to people' posts if you can, praise peoples photo's. offers of help, general contributions. Take time to smell the FT forums coffee(and roses).
Finally guard against the ghastly mucking out sessions before you go into a small room in a home.Throw out stuff NOW.
I am going there in July. Please God grant me patience with the elderly, the doctors and the rules.
I shall paint and write and sleep and still be here in FT grumbling and moaning but HERE. As I hope you all will be. Its your place to speak up . So do that. Value it and its often weird members. Love you all (No I don't what a stupid thing to say)

My dad's cousin still drives a tractor-trailer at the age of 77 and has no signs of slowing down. Age is really only a number anyway. Considering what I looked like at the age of 33 (well over 250 pounds) and the age of 39 (fall between 175 and 180 pounds), I feel far younger now at the age of 39 than I ever did at 33!

Ugh, that reminds me of an art song I had to sing as part of one of my singing exams years ago.

It was composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams and was about an elderly woman looking back over her rather colourful life - and it was GHASTLY. Not the lyrics, but the timing. It changed rapidly throughout from 2/4 to 3/4 to 4/4 and so on and was incredibly difficult to sing.

I far prefer the above poem. At least it stays still.

I just spied this one and have always admired our Ren's energy. My father, with whom I live, is eighty-nine and goes to the gym twice a week, fixes things including things on the roof and heavy yard work, poured cement for his grandson's house with his truck and built the frames out of wood we went to load at his other grandson's house, he volunteers at a local elementary school to teach music, fixes things for the lady next door who has a handicapped husband in a wheelchair, built a ramp for the chair, sings in the choir, moves people if they need him to including most of his grandchildren, composes music, does math problems for fun, plays chess problems from books, watches tennis obsessively, plays Frisbee, and walks a lot around the area. I'm always amazed at his energy level. I live here now and cook well for him but he has good habits.

He substitute taught until he was eighty one and only then he stopped to care for my mother in her last days. He would even take elementary physical education jobs which I never take as I do that job now.

His father was a preacher who never stopped working for others until the day he died, a lot like Jimmy Carter style and his brother works for Habitat for Humanity too. The other brother remodels houses and is in his seventies now.

I'm not in as good a health and yet, I enjoy my life and although my work isn't stable, I figure I'll probably work until I go too. It would be nice to not have to do this, but with the reset that getting out of a long marriage required, that won't be an option unless I win one of those lottery tickets.

every time I feel a little useless at my job, I think of the one kid whose day is better because I was there. This child might not get the teacher's attention as she or he has lots of them, but, he or she might get mine. My teacher bag is full of little love messages and thanks from children. Even older ones do drawings for me as I often do art classes.

My mother on the other hand, wasn't given as good a genetic boost nor were her sisters. Now the trick is which hand was I dealt?

There is a group of ladies in the town that I used to live in who met up often for lunch and outings and they always wore purple and red hats. One of them worked in a McDonald's as a cleaner and on her "Lunch dates" would be out of uniform.

Here in UK they moved the goalposts for retirement, so I still have a few years to wait, but it gives me time to find a group of purple wearing red hatted ladies to join.

My grandma stopped driving her Mercedes at 98. She said she felt normal when she got in it and drove but a week before she died a year later she was still carrying all the shopping bags after we went to the supermarket. She also used to enjoy seeing the doctor's face when they read she was born in 1910 and said really? I expect a few people may still remember the stories on my old blog here.

To think I've known Ren and Sue online for 17 years and Sue in person (and quite a few others) since 2004 is amazing, how many other sites even last that long let alone keep many of the same members? Maybe after long enough people may finally see me get married but I have very little control over that. And advance birthday wishes Sara.

"Age is just a number"...........sadly, it isn't. I am 75.......not 57..........and whilst my brain appears to be as functioning as well as ever (or as badly as ever), the same cannot be said for the body I walk (hobble) around in.

"Age" is something that happens to everyone who do not suffer the misfortune of losing their life for a multitude of reasons whilst physically still in their prime. Natures way of "Human Culling" aka "war" is a prime example.

There are many things, I used to enjoy...........many things I can no longer enjoy.........and a few things I can still enjoy.

We can fight against aging, glibly spout about age just being a number........but I see little sense in fighting the inevitable and consider "Age is just a number" a very IRRITATING and inaccurate statement, because in my experience - it isn't.

No it isn't . and there are times when we all feel that age is taking over, but the key is fighting against losing your marbles if you can. It is true that if you give up work and don't find a substitute you die quite soon. I read, I play games, I do quizzes, I walk, I watch telly, I sit in the sun, I help people who need it(being very careful not to take over when help isn't needed, there is nothing more irritating,) and I am down to teach at school two days a week.
There are 38 old people in this home, some are really quite gaga, but I make a point to try and converse a bit. No one wants to be babied I am sure and everyone needs a challenge.So I speak in my normal voice and give them face.
There are a lot of snags attached to aging, but it is so important to keep going and push yourself.There shouldn't be anything pathetic about the elderly.
Incidentally, Heather, your dad is amazing. Even reading about his antics makes me tired!

I know...I've been feeling older than my father! He's off on a trip for a few weeks and starting it with a reunion dinner for 71 years after high school! It was during the last years of WWII and a handful enrolled and went over as they'd be fairly young at that time. Either they'd lie about their age or get their parents to sign the form to enlist.
He went to Korea later on.

Glad to hear it's coming along well Auntie Ren.
We have a hundred year old lady at church who gets up to help with the dishes!

After a day like today, I feel old. I let a young guy between places stay with me for a couple days before kicking him out. He was the worst behaved, grouchiest, rudest person I think I may have ever met.

Yes, well sometimes bring old is a bonus!
On my 6 am minibus which thank goodness I don't have to get up at 5 to catch any more, there was usually a couple in their 90's.
I discovered that they were going to the old folks day centre to help out!!

Have read all the preceding contributions with a smile...I venture to suggest that I probably am older than any of you but I am still going strong...will be 83 in a couple of months....LOL.....FT keeps my brain active and fills in lonely days.

Yes Mommakat, you are right that's the key to success. I am trying , like you, to keep my mind active with the help of this great website, and with going into work twice a week . The physical effort of getting up, travelling as well as all the mental agility exercise is what is needed. My blood pressure already came down 50+ points since I moved in here, so all is looking positive.

My grandmother (whom I will be seeing in about 3½ weeks) is 84 and does crossword puzzles to keep her mind active. She still does everything she can, and knows her limits.



That's awesome! Just don't let it get too low!

edit to add: I have a number creeping up on me this year, and we'll see if life truly begins there...!

I play tournament Scrabble, and many of our players are in their 70s, with quite a few octogenarians, too. We have one dear old guy who is 94, and still going strong.

I would usually be in the younger half of the group, and I am 'only' 60.

Pete Seeger sang this as a song, but it was written as a poem.

How do I know that my youth is all spent?
Well, my get up and go has got up and went.
But in spite of it all I am able to grin
when I recall where my get up has been.

Old age is golden-so I’ve heard it said-
but sometimes I wonder when I get into bed,
with my ears in a drawer and my teeth in a cup,
my eyes on the table until I wake up.

Ere sleep dims my eyes I say to myself,
“Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?”
And I’m happy to say as I close my door,
my friends are the same, perhaps even more.

When I was young, my slippers were red,
I could pick up my heels right over my head.
When I grew older, my slippers were blue,
but still I could dance the whole night through.

But now I am old, my slippers are black,
I walk to the store and puff my way back.
The reason I know my youth is all spent,
my get up and go has got up and went.

But I really don’t mind when I think, with a grin,
of all the grand places my get up has been.
Since I have retired from life’s competition,
I accommodate myself with complete repetition.

I get up each morning, and dust off my wits,
pick up my paper and read the “obits”.
If my name is missing, I know I’m not dead,
so I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed

John E Denham

How did he know!?

I've seen another similar poem Dave, with a verse that's probably not suitable for FT consumption!

My Mum is 84. Physically she's a bit frail, but mentally is still as sharp as a knife. She's been investigated for weight loss and is now most indignant that her GP as referred her to an 'old people's clinic' at the local hospital to investigate further. She has breezed through some very unpleasant investigations thus far.

She plays bridge and last year took the plunge and went online. She does crosswords and word puzzles and is very aware of the need to keep her brain active. Trying to meet up with her is difficult as she's always off out somewhere!

My dear mother-in-law is the same age and had a run of ill health in her early seventies. She completely lost confidence in her mobility and gradually stopped going out. A couple of years ago she had a stairlift installed. That was in January, at that point she could get upstairs with assistance. By summer of that year she couldn't walk more than a dozen paces and it took two of us to help her up a step. For the last few years she's not done much more than watch TV all day and now dementia has set in.

It's very sad and I know a certain amount of luck comes into it, but it has shown me the importance of keeping mentally and physically active. I may or may not make it to the same age, that doesn't worry me but i'll do what I can to keep active for as long as possible.