Old Girl’s Got Game

Posted on November 5, 2022 by

9 Comments

I have had a lot of gumption lately.

gump-tion

shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness. “she had the gumption to put her foot down and head Dan off from those crazy schemes.”

I haven’t always had a lot of gumption although I’ve often had a lot of bravado. A lot of that was blowing smoke as we used to say, overwhelming people with numbers and letters and pages, the stacks of which protected me from exposure. I have these numbers, therefore, I am.

But lately, for a variety of reasons, I have had to have a lot of gumption and I’ve not come up short.

Why the pats on my own back?

Because getting old is such an exercise in managing deficits. Because getting old means no one expects much from you anymore. Because getting old makes people think you are harmless.

I don’t want to be harmless. I want to be formidable. Not every day, but often enough to remind myself that I am somebody. I am a person of substance. I am someone to be dealt with.

I have gumption. And I’m proud of it.

Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash

Category: Aging in AbundanceTags: , ,

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Jan Wilberg

Jan Wilberg

What happens here on Red's Wrap is all over the map. There is no single theme, no overarching gripe, no malady of my own or others that dominates. I write about what seems important or interesting at the moment and what aims me toward hope. I write stories, essays, poems - whatever fits the day and the mood. Nothing stays the same, here or anywhere. That's a good thing. Happiness. It's relative.

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