Franklin County Times

Every so often I like to take this column and use it to discuss things going on in my life. I usually try to keep those columns humorous in nature, but this week I am not feeling very humorous.

I was not happy with how the first draft of this column was turning out because it was beginning to sound like one big cliché. Instead of fighting it, I decided to embrace the clichés — don’t tell my journalism professor though, because he would have a cow.

I guess now I am feeling a little bit of the humor starting to peek through now. Any way, here are some clichés I am embracing to help me find the therapeutic comfort I am seeking.

“Don’t look back.” Looking back is unproductive — it is better to spend your energy working on what you can control instead of wasting it on things that can’t change.

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well, that pretty much says it all. In short, I have no comment at this point in time.

“Variety is the spice of life.” Occasionally change is what you need in life. Sometimes, however, you never see the change coming until it is too late — at that point you have to embrace it and hope for the best.

“On a wing and a prayer.” Some life changes make you wonder if you can make it through. I’m sure I’ll be able to deal with the event’s going on in my life, but it will not be easy.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.” I have to set goals and work hard to reach them. If I expect everything to be fine in a day or two, I am only setting myself up for disappointment. I have to remember to be patient now more than ever — this has not been one of my better traits in the past.

“Cash in your chips.” Kenny Rogers said it the best in the song “The Gambler” — “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em; Know when to fold ‘em; Know when to walk away; Know when to run.”

“Every dark cloud has a silver lining.” It would be nice if those linings were real silver — it would make things a little easier.

“See the glass as half full.” I have always seen myself as an optimistic pessimist. In other words I hope for the best and expect the worst. I don’t think the glass is half full or half empty — it is just the wrong size.

“Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes.”  There are times when you need to take control and other times when you need to follow. The view is getting old and I am taking charge to do something about it so I don’t have such an awful view in the future.

“Champagne tastes and a beer budget.” See the cliché about dark clouds and silver linings.

“Keep your chin up.” No matter what is going on I have to maintain hope things will turn out fine. If I allow myself to get caught up in the bad stuff I will be miserable for a long time.

“Same stuff, different day.” Keeping my chin up can be difficult, however, when I have to deal with the same problems on a daily basis.

Maybe one day I can wake up to some new stuff, find a silver lined glass that is the right size and full of champagne. On that day Rome will have been built and my chin will be up as I cash in my chips before hopping on a wing and a prayer that will carry me away to enjoy the variety in life and I won’t look back when I say something nice about someone.