Back in the mists of time, my grandmother was recovering from surgery. History does not record the exact ailment. Or at least my 7-year-old self did not record. The bottom line was that she was fine, she was not leaking from important places, and she was supposed to stay seated as much as possible.
My grandmother hated to impose. She would never dream of asking another person to inconvenience themselves by getting up for her. Instead, she would wait until one of us stood up. Then she would say, “While you’re up …” Of course, we would do or fetch whatever.
In the short term, it became a thing. You had to be really sure you wanted to stand up because you knew you would be sent on a mission.
In the long term, it became a family joke. Person X would be comfortably seated, feet up on an ottoman, enjoying a good book. Person Y would turn to them and say, “While you’re up, dear ….”
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
So true!
Mom
Nice family memories. I don’t have a lot of those.
I love family expressions. My husband and I have several. My mother used to say “We’re lost! the captain shouted as he staggered down the stairs.” No one in the family knew or remembered where it came from. Spoken in moments of general chaos.
In my family, it comes from my mom (AFAIK). She’s famous for ‘while you’re standing….’ to this day
Amy