Wednesday, July 8, 2009
THE GLASS IS HALF WHAT?
When my son was about 9 years old he figured out the difference between Mom and Dad.
“If they see a vacant lot on our street,” he said, “Mom is worried that winos and drug addicts will start camping out there, and Dad says, ‘look at all that empty space. We could build an amusement park with roller coasters and Ferris wheels and all kinds of cool rides.’”
The boy was right. That pretty much sums us up. A pessimist married to an optimist. Or as my wife likes to say, a two-feet-on-the-ground realist married to an irrepressible bubble-headed dreamer.
So here’s the news about me as my wife would tell it: My husband is having a total knee replacement in September. I’m dreading it.
And here’s the same story about me as I would tell it: I just got great news. My doctor looked at the MRI on my right knee and said there’s some inflammation, but basically it doesn’t need surgery. So I only have to have one knee replaced, and it’s my left, which means I can drive sooner. Best news I’ve had in months.
I’m not kidding, folks. When the doc told me all I needed was one knee replaced, I was psyched. Two would be a bitch. One is a cakewalk. Okay, maybe a cake limp.
So what about you? Is the glass half full? Half empty? Or are you like my friend the engineer who looks at it and says “what we have here is too much glass.”
And, oh yeah… whatever side you fall on, please tell me how you deal with your nearest and dearest who see the world completely different.
Marshall posted on July 8, 2009 1:19 PMI'm definitely the optimist, and hubby is the pessimist. I'm not that big of a worrier (thank you, medication), but hubby obsesses. I like the internet community, he thinks Facebook is the spawn of Satan. I could go on and on. How do I deal with it? Arsenic. Slowly but surely...
Suzy Banana posted on July 8, 2009 4:01 PMI'm more pessimistic than my husband but I'm not a total pessimist. He just refuses to see limitations at all to what he wants to do. He's a bulldog that way. I just quit more easily.
donna posted on July 8, 2009 4:29 PMMy mother is the world's biggest pessimist in the world. I never quite understood my constant sense of doom until I spent time with her as an adult.
Two examples:
Someone tells her she has a lovely manzanita tree, she responds "it'll be dead in a year."
The family dog is amazingly obedient for a change, my mother assumes it's because the dog senses that she's dying.
I think I'm probably an optimist at heart, except for all the pessimistic voices in my head.
How do I deal with the conflicting voices? Pot and prozac.
Lesley posted on July 8, 2009 4:51 PM
I'm the optimist in my relationship. Hubby is frequently convinced that the sky is falling.
Shelly posted on July 8, 2009 5:10 PMHmmm ... gotta say I'm really the optimist. Fell out of the motorhome on 4th of July during our dive trip but I'm so happy that I only broke my previously screwed up left leg and not my good one and also that they were able to give me a really cool looking red cast with a white stripe like the dive flag... now my fiance, well that's a different story, no more diving, no vacation, no sex ... LOLOL ...
Lynne posted on July 8, 2009 5:58 PMI'm with your engineer friend. She sounds brilliant.
Ironically, my nearest & dearest says "what!? There's plenty of glass! Let's add some more crap!" And then suddenly we have an arm-load of home-improvement projects that are 1/10 to 1/4 done and kids booked into activities eight nights a week. Not to mention his own activities, but this isn't the Dr Phil post is it?
So, what was the question? Oh yeah. Yes please, I'll have a glass of wine.
Also? A roller coaster and ferris wheel in an empty lot in a residential area? *Now* who doesn't have a hot clue how big the glass is? I'd like to say I'm with Mom on this one, but it's more likely I'd be with the winos.
Harmzie posted on July 8, 2009 7:09 PMI'm a half full kinda gal, my hubby, "glass? what glass?" Now, if you're talking about the gas tank gauge -- I can go for weeks and never look at the gauge. Hubby, panics if it's at the 3/4 full mark and starts calling AAA to make sure they're standing by when he runs out of gas.
Sam posted on July 9, 2009 8:26 AMkarp, marshall warren....at least knee surgery will keep you on 'light duty' for awhile....
eddie leiman posted on July 9, 2009 12:23 PMI like to think I am the optimist. But I do tend to worry. a lot. Although, he is so negative I swear you can see the black rising from the top of him at times. Quite frankly, it is really annoying. It's like he thinks the universe and everyone is out to make his day bad.
I like your view on the knee replacement. Good Luck with that. Keep us updated on your progress.
debb posted on July 9, 2009 2:09 PM