Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life...

I make no bones about the fact that I have a large streak of cynicism running through me (but in the name of all things holy with the way things are going these days how can one not?  Even poor old Mother Teresa would have had a bit of an attitude by now).  That said, it doesn't mean that I don't like to give a more positive spin to things when I can.

For example, I'm a little tea pot.  Not the handle and spout part, the first bit - although I prefer to think of it rather more as being vertically challenged.  I have hit a goal weight and now am just hoping that I'll be growing the additional 16 inches I'll need to even things out. 

 I was not always the tea pot I am today though - I was reasonably sized and very athletic as a kid and then the trip began through my first visit to and then through a round vessel used for a hot beverage on to "Oh, dear" and finally settling at what I can only refer to as my "Circus Fat" days.  Just as I have no recollection of getting there nor do I recall making a conscious decision to try to make it go away.  I do think that the calliope music that played in my head whenever I was conscious may have been a catalyst.  Who's to say?  The good news though is that now I can shop in a regular store, like a real girl, and my cargo shorts are no longer confused with that deal that slows the space shuttle down when it lands.

Next, most of us at this point are either beginning to deal with or continuing to deal with physical challenges - what with our body parts literally attacking us, other parts now having things that end in 'itis", other things that are rudely referred to as degenerative and more than a few movements that can only be accomplished by simultaneously emitting some sort of noise, grunt or string of swear words (and on some days all of the above). 

Because I did have a heart attack a couple of years ago (and this was after I had lost enough weight to put me back into clothes shopping at Target range - so, really not the thank-you note from my body for which I was hoping) my "How are you?" is still often met with a concerned "How are you?"  Well, I think (I hope) my heart has sorted itself out but my knees and back started taking a dive over 30 years ago (see athletic childhood above) and my hips have recently joined the party so, "Fine" isn't strictly true but who wants to be dreary so I try to respond with a cheery, "Relatively death-free, thank you." Or a hearty, "Continuing to wake up, so that's good - right?" Other days it might be a bright, "Oh, well my arms and head are just tip-top - how nice of you to ask!" and finally, when all else fails and other words elude me, "I feel just like I'm living in a dream" seems to be just the ticket.

At the end of the day, I am still a short, fat, diabetic, middle-aged lady with six stents in my heart and a gait that each day seems to more vaguely resemble that of Walter Brennan in his star turn as Grandpa McCoy, but I prefer to think of myself as vertically challenged and relatively death-free.  Always look on the bright side of life...