Red Hat Society

Yes, I belong to the Jewels of the Desert chapter of the Red Hat Society. Did you know that women under 50 can be members?? We can! We're called "Pink Hatters" or "Ladies in Waiting." Full-fledged Red Hatters are 50 and above and wear purple clothes and a red hat. Pink Hatters wear lavender and a pink hat--sort of a "toned down version." At 50, I will have a RED-uation and will be cerimoniously given a red hat to wear. Thankfully, that's still twenty years away! I am among the few Pink Hatters out there, but I do consider myself a "Red Hatter in Training" and try to learn from our more mature members. Well, mature may not be the word...but I digress!
The point, you ask? FUN!! My mom and I actually founded this chapter ourselves, which makes her the Queen Mum and me the Princess. Since we're called the Jeweles of the Desert, I am also known as the Garnet Princess.
The whole point is that women over 50 have already saved the world and are ready for some fun!! They've raised their families, worked, etc. and deserve to just go out and have a blast together. So that's what we do. We all dress in our colors and do a monthly event--just for fun!! We may have brunch at a tea room, take a ride on the Dolly Steamboat, play Bunco, tour a local wine-making facility...whatever we want! And we do attract a lot of attention, as you can imagine from the group picture. Luckily, my mom and I are use to it. In fact, we wore our hats for the very first time when we visited Tombstone and people thought we were part of the show!! We even got our picture taken while we ate our picnic lunch. We were a sight!! Men especially tend to compliment us when we wear our garb, and particularly older men. I think they miss the days of women in long skirts and a proper hat! We do get cat-calls occasionally, too!!
ANYway, it's a hoot and just another group of women that I get to enjoy the company of. The picture is my mom and I, and our whole group at brunch in February. That's us down front with my son, who often tags along!
Find out more (or locate a group in your area) at http://www.redhatsociety.com/