The Choice Is Yours

Do you want to be Tigger.....

or do you want to be Eeyore?

Two years ago this month, Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer. You know who he is...the Last Lecture guy. The man who used his death to teach us about life. I loved this man. He taught me so much. I just rewatched his lecture and the ABC special about him. My sister bought me his book because she thought I would like it. She was wrong. I love that book. I keep it in a basket in the computer room. I don't bother to put it away because I know I'll be reading it again soon. I read parts of it every week. It really is how I want to live my life. I keep the book close as a reminder.

The older I get, the more I realize that you have the choice of being Tigger or Eeyore. It's just like Randy said. It's your choice. I try to be a Tigger. I really do and I think I keep getting better at it. I have no reason to be anything else. I have a husband who loves me. I have four beautiful daughters who are healthy and happy. I have sons-in-law who are the best and are wonderful to my daughters. I have awesome grandkids who are the lights of my life. I have my mom and stepdad and my sisters and brother and their families. We have a roof over our heads that is totally paid for. We have food to eat and I have a job I love. We have great friends. The worse thing that I can say about my life right now is that I am overweight and I'm working on that. Why would I be anything but a Tigger.

Of course, there are days when things happen and Eeyore comes creeping in. I have to remember all the things that make me a Tigger to keep him away. I am so lucky. I know this. I have friends and family who have lost parents and husbands and children this year. One of my very best friends is fighting cancer for the second time. If you want to meet Tigger, you need to meet her. You would never guess she has cancer. She is the most positive, wonderful person you will ever meet. The kicker is, she will have cancer for the rest of her life. Her cancer is inoperable and the best they can do is keep it at bay. If she can see past that and always see the good in her life first, how can I do anything but the same?

The one thing I have learned is that no matter how bad you think you have it at any given time, someone is always worse off than you. There are a few people in my life who refuse to see this and are always Eeyore. They can't accept that things aren't as bad as they make them out to be. I'm sorry to say that sometimes, I just have to walk away. I can't take the "oh poor me" thing anymore. It is like their favorite thing is to tell everyone how bad their life is. Why would someone want to live like that? How much fun can it be to be a Debby Downer 24/7?

I guess what I am saying is that I choose to try my best to be Tigger. I'm trying to focus on the positives instead of the negatives because there are so many more positives. So, who are you going to be, Tigger or Eeyore? You know the choice is all up to you!