“Will you please teach me a new slang expression and what it means every day?” Little did I know where that simple request would lead.
As a friendship family to international university students, I became the unofficial interpreter for my husband’s frequent use of slang, idioms, and other unusual expressions. When students asked “How are you,” he responded, “Hunky dory” or “Fit as a fiddle.” When they said, “Goodbye,” he replied, “Toodle-oo.” For them, he often spoke his own foreign language.
A student from Taiwan made her request for slang lessons during one of our daily walks. As we began exploring those often-confusing expressions, an idea slowly formed. Why not combine my writing and international outreach with a hearty dose of fun?
Thus began Words, Wit, and Wisdom: Life Lessons from English Expressions. Once a week I explain a new expression, frequently suggested by a reader. I keep blog posts short, simple, and easy to read.
My primary audience remains people with English as a second language. However, many followers, who speak English as their primary language, enjoy the word play and devotional respite.
The wisdom I find in many expressions applies to the writing life as well. For example, my husband taught me the importance of becoming a tough cookie. The way he handles hard times amazes me.
A tough cookie has often experienced a hard life.
My husband has suffered:
- A malignant brain tumor (In 2004, he was expected to live three to five years.)
- A heart attack, stroke, and fall that resulted in a severe brain injury (In 2009, all three happened the same day. He was not expected to live 24 hours.)
As a writer, I dread rejections (or worse, no response at all). However, in the grander scheme of things, those are not a problem. I can revise and submit elsewhere.
A tough cookie is a strong person.
My husband refuses to give up in spite of health problems. He:
- Almost never complains
- Rarely gets discouraged
- Fears little
- Refuses to accept defeat
When I grow weary, ready to throw in the towel, I remember God called me to write. I can do this, not in my own strength but in God’s.
A tough cookie decides to make the most of life.
My husband would prefer to be healthy and able to work. However, he chooses not to be a worry wart. Instead, he enjoys what he can.
I also choose whether to make the most of each day, in spite of less-than-ideal circumstances. God can take my life and my circumstances to create opportunities I could never imagine.
A tough cookie is not perfect.
No one is. Life’s not perfect. However, like all of us, my husband has a choice: complain or do the best he can. He says what happened to him is just the way the cookie crumbles. Therefore, he makes the best of life.
Although I organize, set goals, and take notes, life seldom follows my well-laid plans. Like my husband, I learn to cross each day’s bridge as I get to it.
Why not join me? Enjoy and allow God to direct your word play. Remain a tough cookie. Who knows where that may lead or what you may discover?
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11 NIV)
Diana Derringer is an award-winning writer and author of Beyond Bethlehem and Calvary: 12 Dramas for Christmas, Easter, and More! Hundreds of her articles, devotions, dramas, planning guides, Bible studies, and poems appear in 40-plus publications, including The Upper Room, The Christian Communicator, Clubhouse, Kentucky Monthly, Seek, and Missions Mosaic, plus several anthologies. She also writes radio drama for Christ to the World Ministries. Her adventures as a social worker, adjunct professor, youth Sunday school teacher, and friendship family for international university students supply a constant flow of writing ideas. Visit her at dianaderringer.com.
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