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December 28, 2007

Comments

Caroline

I think I'm in between. I have this life that's not particularly fabulous or crappy, but sometimes fabulous or crappy things happen.

For example, my husband's truck wouldn't start on Christmas Eve and it was blocking access to the S-A-N-T-A stuff, so after much bickering, we through it in neutral and pushed it out of the garage and into denial .

Three days later when we were ready for acceptance, it started like nothing was ever wrong. Turned out a batter cable was loose and it only cost $18 to replace with a better one.

Neutral to crappy to fabulous. Now we're back to neutral.

TravelSkite

At least they're both basically positive. Try living with a husband who sees every red light as a personal insult, every return to work after a holiday as a knife in the ribs, every rainy day as an individually-inflicted smack in the face. You either get sucked into a vortex of negativity or have to live your life like sodding Pollyanna.

Kathy

Big Dot -- That sounds a lot like my dad. It's draining. After a few hours with him, I need to go somewhere and recharge. I'm hardly Miss Molly Sunshine, but being around someone who never sees the good is exhausting.

Unfortunately, it's probably influenced me more than I care to admit.

~~Silk

I must be sorta like your mother, because now I have to find out if circus freaks live longer and happier lives, and if so, let my beard grow.

Actually, you know who's really happy? Whether long life or short? People who don't think at all.

Solomon Broad

I do something called "positive focusing". I read about it at the link below. Basically, you accept that stuff happens in life, but you constantly look for positive things. You don't ignore the negative stuff, but you don't dwell on it either.

http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/lux/lx2_1a.htm

TasterSpoon

So given that "you can't change people," is there anything one can do when a loved one's response to the diabetes verdict is "la la la la la, I feel fine when I get up in the morning even though my friends are dropping dead around me of heart attacks...pass me another Snickers bar"? It's making the family desperate.

Becs

Big Dot, my sympathies, sounds like Xman (shudder) and yes, when last heard from, he did view every red light as a personal affront. Ass.

I'm either extreme of the two good ladies in question. I have been known to have a checklist at the ready and alternately run around doing the la-la-la-la thing. Depends on the phase of the moon, I guess.

judith

My mother was clinically depressed all of my life, yet, I am not very negative on my own. If I get around a negative person, it takes but a moment and then I jump off the cliff with them. I think I am fairly blessed, I really don't have a lot to be sad about or worry about. Pass me a Snickers, please!

TheQueen

Caroline - It's a Christmas Miracle!
Big Dot - Ugh. That does sound awful. The only way to deal with that is to not care about that person.
Kathy - Pretty hard to distance yourself from your dad, though.
~~Silk - Naw, non-thinkers let their emotions run their lives, and they can't think themselves out of a funk or a disaster. So, emotional circus freaks would be totally screwed.
Solomon Broad - (Hi!) I like your lists. I've been grateful for breakfast cereal too, especially now that Dierberg's sells Quisp.
TasterSpoon - Will this person take a routine finger prick blood sugar test? When I had the temporary diabetes the hospital steroids give you, it was quite convincing to see the relation between sugar/fat intake and how I felt an hour later. They tested my blood before and after every meal, and once I saw how both starving and eating made my sugar swing, and how those sugar swings felt, it was pretty easy to stay on the diet.
Becs - As long as your outlook is positive, which I think it is.
Judith - Come to think of it, when I was clinically depressed I was laughing and making jokes. Until I got alone, then I would cry. I toast your good nature with a Snickers.

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