I often think that people believe you become less impetuous with old age. An abundance of caution seeps into the old bones 🦴. Not down this rabbit 🐇 warren. The old bones may be creaking, or in the case of my knee clicking and the cogs ⚙️ occasionally feel a bit rusty, but I am still the old impetuous me. Growing old doesn't change the essence of who we are. Life experiences, which can happen at any age, can change you, not just the years piling on.
Ok, there are certain things where your age does impact your decisions, but that works differently for different people. Running the London Marathon, or any other marathon, is not an impetuous decision I would make now. I am not fit enough, and various bits of me would not take the pace. But that is certainly not the case for others who have clocked up many more miles on the growing old journey than me. Such as Fauja Singh who ran a marathon in Toronto aged 100 years. He is also known as the Turbaned Tornado. I would not strip off and run into the sea for a bit of skinny dipping at midnight as I did in my much younger days. I'll leave that one there. But will mention Carmen Dell’Orefice the 91 year old super model who appeared in a nude photo. I never had legs like hers.
Starting this Substack was completely impetuous. I did it without thinking. I had no idea what Substack was. Thank you
🤔 I think. Previously, my writing experience was restricted to dry anorak explanations of social security legislation, service reviews or policy documents. Believe me, there is absolutely 100% nothing you can be impetuous about with that lot. But I am impetuous about what I write on my Substack. Even when I have something planned, it morphs into something completely different. Except for this one, which I thought about a few days ago. But it is about being impetuous.Slight diversion.
John, my husband, proofread one of my reports once. It returned with so much red that it looked like he'd spilt strawberry jam all over it. For the sake of our marriage, he never proofread another one of my reports.
When John died, I lost my caution adviser. He would be the one to say. "Hold on a minute. Have you thought this through? Can you afford it?" He wasn't a party pooper. He just had a bit more common sense than me. He was the rock to my bull in a china shop. My bull had something to stop in front of, think and then either go round or turn back, muttering, "Why are you such a smart arse?"
In the months after John died, I did everything the wrong way. I saw a good deal on an ex-demonstrator mini countryman car, walked in, did a test drive and bought it. When Ledley, our beautiful Labrador, died, Mildred arrived four weeks later. When I got a valuation on our house for probate, I saw another on the estate agent's website. I sold the old house and moved six months later. Honestly, I didn't think through any of these decisions. Do I regret them? No. Would I have made different decisions if I had thoroughly thought them through? Probably, yes. Would John be muttering away? Definitely.
Being impetuous is and always has been part of my nature. I doubt I will ever change. I booked an expensive weekend retreat as soon as it was advertised. Do I regret it? No. Would I have booked it if I had genuinely thought about the cost? Probably not. I justify it to myself: I don't have holidays anymore. I am paying in instalments. And I am sure I will come up with many other reasons or excuses. I know I will feel the benefits of a weekend away in beautiful surroundings with beautiful, kind and lovely people.
I bought a new computer, but I considered it. I weighed up the pros and cons this time. Yes, it was another major outlay, but it was the right decision. Sorry to disappoint you if you thought I would say it was an expensive mistake. For the first time since I had my stroke 19 years ago, I can sit on the computer for longer than 30 minutes without hours of bad cotton wool head afterwards. You can change the screen settings to reduce the vibrations on the screen. I know what I mean. It is handy now I am writing my memoir. Don't get excited. It is unlikely to see the light of day. But it is good for me, and I hope I will tell some of John and Sarah's stories and explain a bit about me.
As usual with my posts, I start by going down the 'what it means', rabbit 🐇 warren. According to Oxford Language, impetuous is 'acting or done quickly and without thought or care'. Nice and straightforward. I saw the phrase 'an abundance of caution' on a website while thinking of what to write in this post. I liked the phrase so copied to use for later. I was amazed when I typed it into google to discover the phrase actually appeared in the Cambridge Dictionary: ‘that someone is being extremely careful to avoid a particular risk, even if the risk is small: out of an abundance of caution.
The airline said that, out of an abundance of caution, they would temporarily ground their entire fleet of planes.' That seems to happen quite often now……🤔 but I am glad they do; it is still one of the safest forms of travel. If you want to know more, here is a link to the Sheffield School of Aeronautics.
Countless websites provided explanations about the abundance of caution. Being an old fart, I had not heard the phrase before, plus why, as an impetuous person, would I have done it. According to an explanation on Reddit, it seemed to have become a common phrase during the pandemic that politicians often used. But it originates from Legal Latin ex abundante cautela, "by way of extreme caution" and seems to have entered the English language in the 1880s.
I think I will now impetuously leave you all to your quiet Sunday of rest, marathon running or whatever you are doing.
What is the most impetuous thing you have ever done? Did you regret it?
Are you impetuous or cautious?
I am glad to be back and if you enjoy my rambling ponderings, and haven't already, please do subscribe and share with others.
Hee-hee! I've found a friend Jo. I am terribly impetuous, always doing things on the spur of the moment and without too much thinking - it doesn't always work out but mostly it does, I don't think I could be anything else now, I certainly can't see me changing at this age. Three cheers for impetuosity I say, it's much more fun!
You will have the best time on the retreat. I’m so pleased you’re going (and wish I was too, but it’s not to be this year). The computer sounds like an excellent upgrade. A bit of impetuousness is needed in this unpredictable life xxx