My approach would naturally be much more practical – but Erma had me sold. Pride is about joy.

“Don’t congratulate us on what we’re doing well…we don’t want people to see that and get complacent." That makes sense, and yet, I’ve found that it helps to have an outsider like me acknowledge and celebrate what’s working so that they can do more of it.

This year I learned that I’m ageist. I learned this by showing up at “drop-in pickleball" at the rec center around the corner, having never played. The other players were patient with me, lent me a paddle, and taught me to play. I felt cautiously confident that I could pick this up easily, especially since many players were older than me. And then I had my a$$ kicked by folks 15-20 years my senior.