I am coming to redefine what I previously (and might I add prematurely) judged the optimist to be. My less than flattering sobriquet for "optimist" was "unrealistic." I then determined myself to be a realist and decided that those choosing not to see things as they "are" as having their heads in the clouds.
Here's a shocker... I married a supreme optimist. The Engineer is excellent at keeping his cool in arduous circumstances. He handles difficult people with grace and plans around failure rather than planning for the shortcomings of others. Perhaps the best picture I can paint with words is describing the ultimate test for me... the (dare I admit it).... pessimist. An amusement park.
For lack of a better vocabulary I will just say that I tend to freak out. First off, my mind goes directly to the prospect of having a missing child. If possible, I would become a magnet and put metallic t-shirts on all three of my children in order to keep them safe, secure, and by my side. The Engineer is fine with the older girls walking beside him, while I insist they have a firm grip to one adults hand. I go to a theme park packing Dramamine, antiseptic, and disposable toilet seat covers. The Engineer takes his wallet. And the list goes on...
For a long time I wondered 'Can there be anyone out there as happy go lucky as my husband?' And well this search led me to my main story and character for this blog... yes. Yes there is a person who is probably even more the optimist than my husband. That person is my sister-in-law "Malger." Below is a picture of her dressed for work on Halloween. She being a physical therapist decided to be "Wonder PT." This is just a small piece of evidence displaying her personality type.
Malger married my oldest brother "Mr. Noodle" (I will explain that name later). My brother is... well... he is a Sullivan. We Sullivan's tend to like things to be in an orderly, structured, routine fashion. Even more important is the idea that cleanliness is next to godliness (and yes, I am aware of this not being scripture). I have 8 siblings and we are (for the most part) all pretty much the same in this regard.
Malger is an experimenter, an adventurous soul willing to do things I believe are sometimes borderline insane. I don't really mean "insane" but wild. Here's a case and point story for you all at home:
My family has simple tastes in food. We like good old southern cooking with the same good old recipes that have always been used. A recipe is a plan and remember my kind likes plans. And ones that we know we like that have withstood the test of time.... we aren't too forgiving with newfangled and exotic food.
One evening, Malger decided to bake. Cookies. And I'm talking Malger-style cookies. Not your Granny's cookies. These cookies had an unusual ingredient list. Well... really there was 1 unique ingredient. Salted potato chips.
Okay I get it... sweet meets salty. Hmm....
The Saint and I drove up to Malger's house to taste the fresh outta the oven batch. When biting into the cookie The Saint was her usual saintly self stating "Oh that's different" and "it's not bad." Then there was my response. I was reluctant to try the cookies, but I was assured that both Mr. Noodle and Magler's mom, "Pegster," had tried and not hated this concoction.
I held the cookie, examined it, smelled it, and finally put it to my mouth. Trying not to be a child and take only a nibble, I decided to be "fair" and eat a normal sized bite. When she asked "Whaddaya think?" I did what I do... I told the truth. Brutally. "You know what go good with this Malger?" I asked. "A hot cup of dirt." The Saint turned red and began laughing, and in the distant background there was Pegster laughing too. I now believe that they were laughing in complete agreement and at my expense for having tasted such thing. Somehow after my opinion came out so did the truth from the other unfortunate tasters: FAIL MALGER! EPIC FAIL.
Lesson: Take chances in life... but know the limits. NEVER PUT POTATO CHIPS in cookies.
Before I get too much criticism for being overly critical let me say the following. I did not dash Malger's baking career. In fact, she has left the cookie arena and cornered the market on doing cakes. Her most recent creation was a "Family Game Night" theme for my nephew's 6th birthday:
So... back to my point. There are always going to be optimists. I am never going to be one of them. But I have learned something. Neither The Engineer nor Malger are unaware of failure. They are willing to try something new and brave. While they may seem
haphazard to the "realist" they possibly see life more realistically. Clear as mud, right? Let me explain:
While I continue to maintain that failing to plan is planning to fail... it's not at all "realistic" to count on failure in every situation and expect to be happy at the end of the day. And while we may not be happy all the time God created the emotion because happiness is a part of living. Every day given to us is an opportunity to find joy in the journey.
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22
God doesn't want us to take ourselves too seriously. And I think kids are a perfect example of God's sense of humor. My daughter Megan once told me "God is a funny guy because He made the duckbill platypus and that's one crazy looking thing." Google it... and I betcha you'll crack a smile. And if that doesn't work... make a batch of potato chip cookies.
Looking on the bright side and not for the pitfalls.
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