Today really is January 6, and there will be a lot to say about this day in history, but I’m tidying up my yesterday first, to explain how i got caught up with other writers and ideas. The day is not over. I have to talk about Marcus Aurelius and Elaine Morgan. And Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

I checked her first because I was thinking of age quotes. Here’s one: “We turn not older with years but newer every day.”

So then while I was hunting for my copy of the anthology—I’m pretty sure it was an anthology—with Warning in it, I came across Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (238-180 B..C.) and grabbed it with a sudden desire to re-read it; And then, searching through my feminist writers, I picked up another favorite to re-read, The Descent of Woman, by Elaine Morgan (1920-2013). There goes the day.

I’ve been reading two books at once and trying to plan dinner— a flatbread pizza, using up goodies in the fridge. I’m running out of time.

Newer every day. I wish.

I promised I would giggle today. It´s not that easy.

I mean, how much are you smiling these days? If you have a dog or a very young child, you are lucky, you are laughing. But my willful promise to giggle today (“tomorrow I shall giggle”) proved to be difficult to keep. I just don’t feel like giggling. Who does? Tell me.

That statement of intent reminded me of that now famous line: “tomorrow I shall wear purple”. I still own the book it appeared in so I looked up my copy….

Oh dear. I should have acquired several copies. because I could have filed the book under several different categories in my library: age, women’s studies, essays, seedbeds, anthologies….I couldn’t find it. I guess it’s not under J. So I looked it up. (God bless Google.)

The title of the poem is Warning. The first line reads "When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple". The poem celebrates aging ungracefully. Jenny Joseph wrote it in 1961 at the age of 29. It was first published in The Listener that year, and later included in her 1974 collection Rose In the Afternoon. 'Warning' was identified as the UK's 'most popular post-war poem' in a 1996 poll by the BBC. Later, older, Jenny Joseph recorded it and you can find the video on Youtube.

My search led me to other things and I have spent this morning (January 6) pursuing my blog promise of January 5,. I’m having a good time but I’m not getting anything done., at least not anything of interest to you. No giggling.

Today (January 6) is turning into a series of tangents.

BTW I can remember giggling, a little over a year ago. My older son brought me a Christmas tree since I was spending the season at home— aka lockdown—for the first time in years. It was a very small, scraggly tree he cut down on his lakeside cottage property. I have no decorations left after all these years but that was okay. I borrowed a red ball to hang on my Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

And I giggled.

Every day until Christmas I looked at it and giggled—with despair, irony, pain, resignation, acceptance and humour.

giggle verb: Rory couldn't help but giggle at the ridiculous picture: titter, snigger, snicker, tee-hee, give a half-suppressed laugh, chuckle, chortle; smirk, sneer, simper.

Like that.