Northern Lights: Shall I Wear Purple?
Earlier this winter, while browsing through a bookshop, I came across an anthology of poetry called ‘Learn by Heart Poetry - Verse to Enjoy and Cherish for Life,’ compiled by George Davidson. That book included a poem I had heard of, but not completely read before, called ‘Warning’ by Jenny Joseph (1932 - ).
The main theme of the poem is that a woman is wondering how she will live her life when she becomes old. The poem starts out with the following verse:
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple,
With a red hat that doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.
The poem, and in particular the first verse, triggered a lot of questions in me about my life and how I am going to live it.
For example, am I considered ‘old’ at the age of 64?
When I was born in 1951, life expectancy for females in Canada was 71 years. A girl born in 2014, on the other hand, has a life expectancy of 84 years. This shows how much progress has been made in the field of medicine and in maintaining a safe and healthy lifestyle in general. And it is my impression that our expectations are increasing all of the time as to how long we will live, so, relatively speaking, I think many people would not consider a person in their sixties to be old.
Am I old in the sense of not having much time left on planet Earth?
Being very fortunate to be a myeloma survivor thus far, I still worry about whether the drugs I am currently on will be enough to hold the myeloma at bay. Despite the fact that I’m very hopeful about the progress that is being made in the treatment of multiple myeloma, I realize that the fact that I have this disease might have a negative effect on my life expectancy and that I may not live to hit the life expectancy for females in Canada.
But, then again, I also realize that serious illnesses and accidents may happen at any age, which brings me to my next question:
Is this a good time for me to become more unconventional and wear purple with a red hat, metaphorically speaking, or should I stick to the tried and true in my life?
I certainly feel less concerned about how people regard my choices than when I was younger, so I could be wearing more of the purple and red when I want to do that. Those two colors clash, so maybe that is an indication that I might become less reasonable too?
I also wondered why Jenny Joseph chose the color purple. Maybe at the time she wrote the poem it was considered to be an outrageous color to wear, but purple does contain the harmonies of calming blue and energizing red. So it could actually be a great color to have more of in my life!
Mostly, though, I have to admit that I find comfort in routines that have served me well throughout my life, such as traveling, singing with my choir, being in a needlework guild, and having differing exercise routines (walking, cycling, gardening, swimming). And, since the beginning of the year, being a grandmother can be also added to the routine.
However, realizing that my future is more uncertain now than it was before my myeloma diagnosis, perhaps I should be following Joseph’s advice from the last verse of the poem:
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So that maybe people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old and start to wear purple.
I guess I could ease away from my usual routines and start wearing my purple suit with a red hat every once in a while now, so that people are not too shocked with my unconventional behavior when I’m really old.
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The quotation for this month is an excerpt from the poem 'Warning' by Jenny Joseph (1932 - ), an English poet: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple.”
Nancy Shamanna is a multiple myeloma patient and a columnist at The Myeloma Beacon. You can view a list of her columns here.
If you are interested in writing a regular column to be published by The Myeloma Beacon, please contact the Beacon team at.
Burgandy is the color for MM.
I can't speak to the other colors.
Nancy - Wear purple, red, and whatever color fits your mood. While routine is admittedly comfortable, it is the time to do those things we have put off, delayed, or previously hesitated doing. Of course, now that we have to deal with meds, monthly checkups, fatigue, and nasty side effects, it might not be that easy. We make plans for what we can do today and hope we can make plans for the future.
I wonder how my husband will look in purple?
Beautiful column, Ms. Shamanna! Wish you a good, long, healthy life, and may you live up to the life expectancy of a Canadian woman and beyond!
Take care, be happy, and spread happiness like you always do for us readers.
Thanks for the comments!
'R', it's a coincidence (in terms of my column) that the color for MM is burgundy, which is close to purple in hue! I wonder how that color was chosen to represent myeloma?
Patty B, I suppose mood has a lot to do with what colors we choose. Maybe your husband wouldn't mind wearing purple socks, if he thought that color was too bold to wear for a shirt or sweater.
Thanks Upasana for your well wishes!
Purple and Red = Burgandy, it seems .
What fun!
FYI, The burgundy colored ribbons are used for the following diseases, including amyloidosis and multiple myeloma:
Adults with disabilities, amyloidosis support, antiphospholipid syndrome, AV malformation, brain aneurysms, cystic hygroma, Factor V Leiden, headaches / migraines, hemangioma & vascular malformation, hereditary hemochromatosis, Hughes syndrome, lymphatic malformation, meningitis, multiple myeloma, post-polio syndrome, sickle cell anemia, Sturge-Weber syndrome, thrombophilia, Williams syndrome.
We see a lot of pink used to denote breast cancer, and I think that the color pink is almost synonymous with that now in the cancer world. Burgundy is an easy color for anyone to wear, it seems to suit everyone I think.
Go for it Nancy! Wear purple.
Enjoyed your thoughts. You mention the increase in life expectancy. Most people think that due to medical advances we are living longer in terms of number of years, but for the most part, that's not the case, or at least, it's minimally so. In the instance of Canada's increase from 71 to 84, that's due almost entirely to the reduction in infant mortality rate, raising the average age of death since most children now live to adulthood (according to the site below). Interesting.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2014001/article/14009-eng.htm
I agree with Matt Goldman! Go for it, Nancy! Whether we are draped in purple, burgundy, or my favorite: Texas A&M University's maroon, life is meant to be lived with wonderment and joy. So, carpe diem!
Wishing you good health, happiness, and wonderment!
Tabitha
Thanks all! I am 'wearing purple' this week while attending a national stitching seminar our guild is hosting in Calgary. Am taking four days of classes in 'Pulled Thread' and 'Punto Antico' embroidery. Lots of fun, and seeing friends there too.
Pusser, the article from Stats Can is interesting and full of graphs explaining how life expectancies are calculated. Decreases in infant mortality and also the introduction of antibiotics and vaccinations since 1921 have made a big difference for that!
Got some good news in the last week. Pomalyst is now being funded in Alberta for patients who have relapsed and are no longer responding to treatments with Revlimid or Velcade. Now, instead of being a 'special access' drug, it is on the province's cancer drug plan. This is reassuring, since it is another potential treatment for us patients here.
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