But I Only Borned Him!

Like all families, we have a few little choice phrases that we've picked up from the kiddies' and grandkiddies' earlier years.  One of my faves is "You borned him ... YOU play with him"

Picture the scene.  Son's 40th birthday party.  

Out of the blue a friend of his (who I'd only met that evening) brought a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and two flutes over to my table. 

Why? I asked the bearer of this magnificent gift, a bearer who was dressed in full Ozzy Osbourne wig, glasses and black rock gear.   

Because Son is such a great, all-round good and decent bloke and he was thankful to have him as a mate, was the reply. 

Well, I was gob-smacked.  I know Son's a truly top bloke, of course, but this amazing gesture took me a-back.

I wanted to tell Ozzy that Son being the best egg in the carton is all down to Son, not me.

I lucked out big-time the day he was born. 40 Years ago.

I consider myself extremely fortunate.

So how did I respond?  

Did I explain my good fortune but thank him all the same for his kind gesture?

Did I thank him with grace and chic-ness a la the delightful Fiona's thirty-chic-days-book, ch. 3?

No I did not.  For I blurted out "But I only borned him!"

Embarrassing.  So I shared a couple of glasses of this super gesture with Sis and Nephew, then I put one of those special bubbly stoppers in the bottle when I got home (they work well, eh?).

The next day I enjoyed a couple of glasses, fizz fully intact, with my Photographer.  We sat around, writing our thank yous, sipping elegantly from our glasses, talking over moments from the night before.  As you do after a great night out.

And it amused me that I hadn't accepted this wonderful compliment and gesture with more elegance.

Probably because it was so totally out of the blue, I guess, I I wasn't prepared for it..  

So in that moment of confusion, I reverted to a 5 year-old version of myself

 

 

and blurted out those words "I only borned him"!

 

As I had only met the guy a few hours earlier, that was a strange first-impression to leave on the poor bloke, who himself is most eloquent and erudite.

It's back to Fiona's book for me.  Chapter 3.

 

 

What are you like with compliments?

Do you accept them with grace?

Or do you get tongue-tied like me?

It would be so nice to hear from you.

A la perchoine.