Outlook

This is my assignment from Travelin'Oma.

I see the world as lemonade, but I examine each lemon carefully in the process of making the lemonade. Let me put it another way: I am a worst case scenario person who looks on the bright side of life.

I have an imagination that runs rampant when it comes to worrying, and thinking about what could go wrong in life, and in individual situations in life. Let me give an example. If my husband is late coming home, these are the thoughts that might (and have) run through my head:

• Will they call me, or show up at the door to tell me he’s dead?
• Who do I call first?
• Okay, I’ll call Trish, and she can help me be organized on who to call, and she can man the phone to let calls through, or defer them until later if necessary.
• I don’t want to call the kids (they were away at college), I want someone to tell them in person.
• Who should I call to tell the kids?
• The kids shouldn’t drive themselves to the airport, they’ll be too emotionally wrought.
• Okay, then who should I ask to drive the kids to the airport?
• Who do I call first in the extended family – who will be reliable to call everyone else and pass on the information immediately?
• I better have my sister tell my parents.
• I better call the bishop to start the funeral process.
• Which hymns shall we sing?
• Who will speak?
• Who in the world will I ask to make fresh sushi for the meal after the funeral (my husband wants a meal that is unforgettable, and anyone who cares enough to come to the funeral is invited to stay and enjoy the meal).

These are actual thoughts which have run through my mind, with some variation depending on the exact situation. It takes about a minute to think these things (I am a pro by now).

The other thing I do when faced with scary or new situations is think of everything that might go wrong. Then when I’ve mentally taken care of that, I head out, prepared. You might think that I go through life worrying about everything. In a way, that’s true. But once I’ve spent those few seconds worrying, I’m done. Most of my worrying is over “what might happen”. When reality hits, I am in the trenches, now thinking, “how can we make this work out for the best?” And in real life, that’s how I am.

When I reflect on my life, I pretty much only remember that I’ve had a great life. When I examine the detailed memories more closely, I realize that in actuality there have been some very, very hard times. In fact in the middle of some of those times I thought they would never end. But I think because of my ability to see the blessings that come from trials, the memories of the trials are very faded.