Pep Talk: "Sudie Puff, Stay Feisty!"

Each week in deciding what to write, one question usually floats through the cranium: “What tickled the internal ivories?” Well, I’ve been called much through 58 years, albeit smart has rarely been one of them. But, considering it’s Mother’s Day, why not write about my mother? What to say about a woman who has requested many monikers in life? From mom, to Patsy Sue to these days, Sudie Puff?

You ask, “Sudie Puff?” Thanks for inquiring. It’s a joy of the relationship your knucklehead scribe has with an (almost) 81-year-old mother. Cognitively, she’s sharp as a tack. One day she just mentioned, “Call me Sudie.” Sure. We talk often on the phone. Especially cherished are moments when mother and son converse while other knuckleheads from Victory’s A Stronger Cord wellness outreach movement are present. The “speaker phone” app is handy in the car. Mom talks to Brian, Angelo, Salif and others. Sudie Puff is a pseudo mom to guys working hard on the comeback trail from affliction. She can relate to their journey and is a dynamo for the underdog. 

What’s the ol’ saying, “An acorn doesn’t fall too far from the tree?” Guilty as charged.

Political news? Nobody’s more attuned than the mother of four. She watches CNN and FOX incessantly. “Those women show too much leg and look like hookers!” snorts a smart soul who speaks her mind even when the best strategy might be silence. She passed that gene along. Also, from the guys in the car one day, after they listened to the Trump fan’s scorching campaign comments? The self-professed “Wyoming Cowgirl” resembled  a “fire-breathing” dragon and, unanimously from listeners including me, earned the “Puff” last name.

Many say the resemblance is striking between mother and son. That’s probably true. But the more this aging jock chronologically advances, the more it becomes apparent, the most shared DNA traits are being feisty and hardheaded. Good and bad. Calls usually produce verbal sparring and occasional agreement. We are okay with that. As a son to an aging parent, I feel blessed the woman born the same day (June 28) as John Elway, is a cognitive champion. Too many friends can only wish for such conversations with aging and memory-impaired parents.

She’s also an isolated senior. It’s an area where A Stronger Cord is focusing more efforts. Seniors. Let’s keep them engaged through wellness outreach promoting better fitness, relationships and communities. Many, like mom, have much to contribute if we make the effort to include them. The ASC knuckleheads are trying.

Mom has been a big cheerleader from day one. Good buddy and Hall of Fame football coach Bill McCartney loves to talk about the four most important words, when strung together, in the English language. He proclaims, “I believe in you!”

Mom has always believed in me. What a gift. This week, whether mom or not, don’t hesitate to tell someone how much you believe in them. It might be just what they need when hope seems fleeting.

Sudie Puff, I believe in you. Stay feisty and have a stellar day!