The {Annoyingly} Awesome Life of 'The Best Day Evers'

I have this disease. At least I think much of the world sees it as a disease.

What do I mean by that?

Well, I am an optimist. And, I have the worst case of it, y'all. Not only am I one of those glass half full kinda people (henceforth referred to as 'The Best Day Evers'), but it's overflowing and spilling out all over tarnation and landing on whomever is before me.

It isn't particularly welcome in the world we live in. I'd say it's more of a social leprosy these days.

My husband will tell you - it's annoying and endearing and annoying and endearing and annoying and ... AND HE"S the one that's stuck with me for all his days. Sometimes I bring him up along with me. Other times - it drives him STRAIGHT BATTY.

Oh, look. We ran out of gas. Well, BLESS - let's make out!
We're way over budget this month. I just found two quarters under the bed and THERE IS A REESE'S EGG CALLING MY NAME, YO!
The kids drew on the walls, again. Eh, I've been wanting to paint.

I was born with this optimistic spirit. I don't know how or why I have it, but it's here. And, let me clarify: I'm not talking about joy - the deep-seeded foundation of knowing who we are and WHOSE we are that guides us through life. That is a different post for a different day. I'm talking about optimism - a way of seeing little annoyances and interruptions as having some SHRED of positive in them.

It's also categorically NOT naivety. It's not head in the clouds, don't wanna face real life, living in a dream world, sugar-coated bliss. It's not I haven't been through any of life's HARD things and it is NOT turning a blind eye to the REAL problems and issues we are facing.

It is instead an inner resolve to NOT let cynicism get a hold of me. I resist cynicism with everything in me.

Surely you know some Best Day Evers, right? (BLESS if you are actually one of my real life people and have to put up with me.) Or, maybe you're a Best Day Ever, too. From the moment you were born, you've had it. Maybe you have kids or a husband or best friends like this. They are generally optimistic people. And, FOR THE LOVE, we can be the most annoying creatures to be around - especially when THE DOO OF LIFE hits the fan. We have birthed a hundred sayings and song lyrics:

"Looking on the bright side of things."
"The sun'll come out, Tomorrow...tomorrow...I love ya'..."
"Don't worry about a thing..."

We are annoyingly ... annoying with all this mess. But, I don't know that we can help it. And we wouldn't want to.

Optimism: I think it's most often hard-wired.

And, the world will do everything it can to snuff it out.. I have seen people look at something shining so bright and literally STARE down the bright so hard that it becomes dark.

We live in a world where we give our best standing ovations to the person who stands up and says, "LIFE SUCKS and here's why." Find the bright side? You're Pollyanna playing The Glad Game and living in a bubble.

I've seen how my optimism grates on people. I see it on their faces and I hear it in their voices and I feel it in the air when we're talking.

Best Day Evers: "...and so we made out like teenagers past curfew for like 15 minutes while we waited for AAA."
"Yeah, but, running out of gas on date night really sucks."

Best Day Evers: "...and since Reese's eggs were fifty cents at the Walmarts, BEST DAY EVER."
"Oh, are y'all having financial problems?"

Best Day Evers: "...and this light shade of gray is PERFECT for their room."
"UGH. But, painting!"

But, I've also seen it DO SO MUCH GOOD to take someone by the hand and lead them out of Funksville and into the land of "We got this, right? We do. We got it."

Life's interruptions? They're really just a matter of perspective to The Best Day Evers. Circumstances don't change when you look at things through a more optimistic lens. YOU change.

And while I think optimism is generally hard-wired, I ABSOLUTELY believe some version of it CAN be installed. I have seen people do it - friends who are naturally inclined to boo/hiss, TURN IT AROUND and head towards "It ain't so bad." All of us can choose to see little annoyances and our batch of "first world problems" as reasons to be in a perpetual funk (to each other, on social media - which ALL THE CAN'T EVENS, and towards anything in our path) or we can choose to find some shred of light in them.

It might be easier for some of us, harder for others. But, aren't most things in life that way?

There is SO much to grumble about, y'all:

Politics.
Him/her.
Ungrateful kids.
Traffic.
Moral decline.
Long lines.
Naggy bosses.
Change of plans.

And, there are a whole lot of people taking the microphone to grumble about them. It takes ZERO effort to find the "pain in the ass" in just about every situation.

But, to my fellow Best Day Evers:

Fight for it.
Don't let the world snuff it out of you.
Keep finding the good where it's hidden.
Let them stare.
Let them grumble.

Instead:

Make out.
Reese's your way through.
Paint.

The world needs us, too.