The Queen of Cliché

In my line of work- dealing with people all the time- I come across a lot of clichés (and a lot of talk about the weather). The funny thing about clichés for me is that I always get them wrong. For example: "Now we're cooking with gas" came out of my mouth as: "Now we're cooking with oil"- not sure I'll ever live that one down at work.

The other night I was lying in bed trying to think of a way to describe a particular feeling in my heart. I thought of the expression "tugging at the heartstrings" and I reflected that not once had I ever considered my heart as an instrument. Then I chuckled when I read "My heart did a pirouette like one of those dancing hippos in Fantasia" (from: The Curse of the Holy Pail, by Sue Ann Jaffarian - a smutty mystery novel series that I can't resist)*grin*.

But neither of these ways to describe the heart have resonated with why my heart is so happy.

One of the boys I used to coach (you know, your average 17 or 18-year old boy) had sent a message to Alvin on Facebook to say hi to me. And there's this feeling of excitement, happiness, awe, or something- that makes me well up with pride that a young kid across all these miles would remember his old coach- even if only for a few minutes. It means so much to me to hear from them via email or Alvin's FB; taking the time to extend wishes or a hello brings out all the warm fuzzies. I invested so much time at those basketball courts that I'm heartened to know that some of the kids have recognized how much I care for them. If I find the right words to describe the feeling, one day, I will post them up here.

I've also been told (somewhere along the way) to take note or commemorate some of life's small achievements. Yesterday I celebrated my 3rd anniversary with my dear Alvin - yay! Here are some flowers & our anniversary candle that are on the kitchen table reminding us of how fortunate we are, and how our lives have changed over these three years. Thanks to all for thinking of us with emails/ snail mail / flowers.