get up Archives - Diana Derringer

Play Possum

October 3, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Many of us tried to play possum when we were children. We wanted to stay in bed when our parents said to get up. We kept our eyes closed and remained as still as possible.

We often display similar behaviors as adults. Some days we simply don’t want to rise and shine.

When opossums (or possums) feel threatened, they pretend to be dead.

They try to avoid attack by lying still. Their goal is for the other animals to leave them alone. Apparently, that defense works well.

When faced with danger:

They don’t fight.
They don’t run.
They play dead.

To play possum means to pretend to be dead or asleep.

It may also mean to pretend not to know. We want to avoid a person or situation. We don’t want to:

Wake up
Get up
Work
Accept responsibility

Like the possum, we hope the threat to our rest loses interest and goes away.

The time comes to stop playing possum and get to work.

We need and enjoy rest and play. Yet, for the best life, we also put our hand to the plow and meet our responsibilities.

“How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?” (Proverbs 6:9 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

Image by daynaw3990 from Pixabay

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My Get Up and Go Has Got Up and Went

March 5, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Some days I feel like my get up and go has got up and went.

(I know, English teachers – another expression with poor grammar.) My family said, “My get up and go got up and went.” I have also heard, “My get up and go has got up and gone.”

However I say it, I mean I have:

No energy
Little strength
No desire to do anything

I don’t want to:

Work
Play
Talk
Move

I have run out of steam and feel as old as the hills.

My get up and go has got up and went often refers to problems of old age.

We hear that in Pete Seeger’s fun song. It mentions the need for:

Glasses
False teeth
Hearing aids

Why not laugh and enjoy each day and each life stage?

I’m thankful my energy doesn’t disappear too often. Yet, I can be thankful for those times. They remind me to:

Slow down.
Rest.
Enjoy the moment.
Count my blessings.
Remember good times.
Stay quiet and peaceful.
Prepare for the days ahead.

Childhood, teen, young adult, middle age, or golden years, why not enjoy them all?

“God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going” (2 Corinthians 4:9).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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Fall Flat

January 2, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Fall Flat--Yellowstone waterfall Waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park may fall on flat land. Yet, they never fall flat. They never fail to amaze us.

When we fall flat, we fail.

We fail in a big way. Often, we say we fall flat on our face.

We all fail.

We may wish for a failure-free life, but that will never happen. Sometimes our failures are small. Other times we fail in a big way – we fall flat. We feel like we can’t win for losing.

Since we all fail, what will we do with those failures?

Will we stop trying?
Will we blame others?
Or will we learn from our mistakes?

Why not turn failures into opportunities?

Failures teach us what does not work. Each failure moves us one step closer to success. We may find that success when we:

Make small changes to what we did before
Take a short break to rest our brains and bodies
Ask other people to help us
Spend our time on something different

If we learn, we have not failed.

Therefore, when we fall flat, let’s get up and try again.

“You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence” (1 Corinthians 10:12 MSG).

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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Rise and Shine

February 4, 2014 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

“Rise and shine! Day has broken!” Regardless of the circumstances, that was our father’s morning wake-up call. Who needed an alarm clock with Dad around?

His greeting came:

After dates
After slumber parties
On weekends
On holidays
Every single day

Friends might sleep until noon, but not us. We crawled out of bed. Dad said it was time to face the day, so we faced the day. At times we:

Muttered under our breath
Wanted to throw a pillow at him
Wondered how any sane person could be cheerful that early

Nevertheless, Dad said to rise and shine. Rise we did. Shine … not so often.

I now know Dad didn’t always feel that cheerful either. But whether he felt it or not, he said it.

The message we received from that daily ritual included more than, “Get up you sleepyheads.” Dad was telling us:

Every day’s an adventure. Don’t waste it.
We have much to do. Let’s do it.

Of course, Dad was right. Every day holds adventure. To see it, we must open our eyes. To make the most of it, we have to open our hearts.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you” (Isaiah 60:1 NIV).

Did your Dad or Mom have a favorite expression? If so, I’d love to hear it.

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