A Eulogy of Idioms for Our Mum. 8 September 2021 Well, dearest mum, for over a year ‘we’ve been caught between two stools.’ ‘To cut a long story short’ - bringing you here is ‘better late than never’ so ‘let’s not beat about the bush!’ You often said, ‘drastic times call for drastic measures’ and ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ so, today, our ‘actions speak louder than words.’ Although you are gone – you will never be forgotten - ‘all good things come to an end.’ ‘It’s no use crying over spilt milk.’ Does ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder?’ Is it true ‘an ill wind doesn’t blow some good?’ Will ‘good things come to those who wait?’ The eighteen months since you left us have been trying, but maybe a ‘blessing in disguise.’ We’ve had time to grieve, to focus- and now fulfil our promise to you. ‘Come rain or shine,’ ‘through thick and thin,’ ‘like two peas in a pod,’ here you are, re-united with dear dad. If really ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ then we’re ‘killing two birds with one stone.’ We’re getting ‘the best of both worlds.’ Your daily ‘nice and easy does it,’ meant so much. Often letting ‘bygones be bygones,’ you would ‘give the benefit of the doubt’ but knew how - and when - to ‘stick to your guns.’ ‘Least said soonest mended’ mostly ‘seeing eye to eye’ yet keeping ‘eyes in the back of your head’ it was ‘once in a blue moon’ you were ‘at loggerheads’ with anyone. Reminding us to ‘take each day as it comes’ to ‘hold our horses’ and never ‘put all our eggs in one basket’ you were able to ‘do things at the drop of a hat’ when needed, while usually ‘hitting the nail on the head.’ At the times ‘when it rained it poured’ you could sense ‘which way the wind was blowing’ and would ‘take things with a pinch of salt’ where necessary. Always willing to ‘see eye to eye’ we can’t remember you purposefully ‘pulling wool over other people’s eyes.’ ‘The grass is greener on the other side’ you chided if we showed envy, to ‘cross bridges as we come to them’ and to never ‘count chickens before they hatch’ - not to mention not ‘judging a book by its cover!’ Until your very senior years, you were ‘fit as a fiddle’ seldom ‘under the weather’ and kept ‘right as rain.’ Maybe ‘time heals all wounds’ but we miss you – and we will always remember you! Thank you for being our loving mum. Alan & Julie 8 September 2021