Mixed Metaphors

English professors love to catch the errors students make in their term papers,
and they love nothing better than to catch mixed metaphors. The "friends and
survivors" of Calvin College English department collected this list of mixed
metaphors and posted them on their web site:

"He swept the rug under the carpet."
"She's burning the midnight oil at both ends."
"It was so cold last night I had to throw another blanket on
the fire."
"It's time to step up to the plate and cut the mustard."
"She's robbing Peter to pay the piper."
"He's up a tree without a paddle."
"Beware my friend...you are skating on hot water."
"Keep your ear to the grindstone."
"Sometimes you've gotta stick your neck out on a limb."
"Some people sail through life on a bed of roses like a knife
slicing through butter."

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Worth Repeating.......

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason
for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries
of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one
tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy
curiosity."

- Albert Einstein
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ANGEL ON THE BUS
by Susan MacGregor

A friend of mine, Kathy, is a soon-to-be first time grandmother but was
upset that her daughter lived in Alberta. Kathy lived in British Columbia and
wouldn't be able to see her grandchild as often as she would like.

I am not a grandmother myself and was having a hard time convincing her
that there were ways to make a long distance grandparent relationship special
too.

But never take lightly the forces of angels! Here is her story of a
conversation with a "stranger" on her bus ride to work one morning:

Kathy was knitting a baby sweater on her way to work on the bus and a
young woman in front of her noticed and struck up a conversation, asking Kathy
what she was knitting. Kathy replied, "A baby sweater. I'm going to be a
grandma in 4 weeks. The only thing is that my daughter lives in Calgary."

The young woman nodded in sympathy and began to tell her story about her
mom and dad who live in Newfoundland. Her mom was not happy that her
grandchildren live so far away, but over the years they have developed a very
special relationship. The kids, 3 and 6, call Grandma every day and sometimes
on the webcam. When the 6 year old boy does something special (like learn a new
dance at school) he performs it for Grandma over the webcam.

She went on to say that her kids love the mailbox and very often grandma
mails them things -- simple things like stickers from the dollar store. During
Christmastime, she buys those musical cards from the dollar store and starts
sending them, each day leading up to Christmas, with little surprises inside.
She said her son has a very special bond with his grandma -- more so than her
sister's kids who live in the same town.

She then went on to speak about her 56 year old dad who has Parkinson's.
One day she was sharing with her mom that it was soon to be Special Person Day
at her son's school and that it usually was for grandparents. She told her mom,
"No worries, I'll take the day off and be there."

A few hours later the phone rang and it was her mom saying, "Your dad will
be there." When grandpa arrived and was at the school, his grandson realized
something was wrong with him. As the children were lining up in the gym beside
their special person, grandpa's hands were shaking as his grandson held on. His
grandson whispered, "Grandpa, did you forget to take your meds?"

Grandpa had tears in his eyes, as did the lady behind who heard, and as
Kathy did as she listened to this story.

Kathy thanked the young woman for sharing her story with her and told her
it really helped her! The young woman said she'd tell her mom too because it
would make her mom happy to know that her own story had helped someone else.

Kathy's comment after that bus ride was, "OK, I'm good with it now and it
will be fun to create special little things to do for my grandchildren at a
distance!"

An angel on the bus -- indeed!!

-- Susan MacGregor

Susan lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
As seen in Heartwarmers