I just got back from the post office, which I hadn’t visited in several days. I had a package slip, and I was expecting the notecards I ordered from David Castle.

Instead, I received a bottle of wine as a thank you gift from one of my clients!

Holy smokes! I’m so incredibly flattered. Another client recently wrote “Beth = Lifesaver = Stress Reducer!” A third said, “I’m happily paying your bill. You’re totally worth it!”

I don’t know how to react to these types of really, really nice gestures and comments and feedback. If someone is saying nice things to me on the phone, I’m literally blinking with wide eyes and usually repeating the word, “Really??!?” and throwing in the exclamation “Gosh” with an occasional “Wow!”

No, really.

I wonder what my clients who hire me as a freelance writer think of these types of reactions. Do they think that I have no confidence or that this is the first time that I’ve ever been complimented?

The truth is that I’ve been amazed that people have enjoyed my writing since the very first time I wrote anything for publication. I took my first reporting class as a lost sophomore in college. The school newspaper ran it, choosing my piece over almost 60 classmates. Within three weeks, the paper hired me as an entertainment writer, promoting me to front-page writer about a month later.

Thus people have recognized my writing for years — decades, I guess. But each and every time someone tells me that err… I rock … I’m overwhelmed. And I’m so grateful that I can’t really think of anything to do except to gush thank yous with my silly, stammering appreciation, always peppered with the ever-so-eloquent “goodness gracious” or “holy smokes” or “jiminey.” I’ve even thrown in a “gosh golly.” No, really. It’s mortifying. But I can’t stop.

I suppose if my clients wanted a writer or a company that responded conservatively to appreciation or that didn’t show emotion, they would find such a group. And maybe when I’m older (although I’m pretty old now), I’ll stop with the wide-eyed enthusiasm and the overwhelming gratitude.

Naah. Probably not. I’m really psyched! They like me… they really like me!

[Note: ok, now I'm even making myself ill.]