Terrific Tuesdays

What is a “Terrific Tuesday”? An opportunity, just like any other day, to look at life optimistically. It sounds more poetic and, for this article, works better than “Mundane Mondays” or “Weird Wednesdays.”

Terrific Tuesdays.

Days in which to decide to see the positive and not the negative. To be a “my cup is half-full” kind of person. To see Tuesdays (or any other day for that matter) as terrific and not terrible. Why? Because no matter what happens, God is still in control. I’d say that’s pretty terrific when you’re dealing with a chronic illness like Parkinson’s disease, wouldn’t you?

So, here are some pretty terrific things about this past Tuesday:

• The skies were cloudy, threatening rain. I wouldn’t need to water my plants. Yahoo!
• I dreamed I got a golden retriever dog. I will love my dog!
• The dishwasher was washing dishes for me.
• My new electric toothbrush was (and still is) awesome.
• The two geese flying overhead were talking (perhaps squawking) to each other.
• It began to rain. Hooray for puddles!
• I got a new picture of my grandson.
• I got to watch my grandson.
• My grandson didn’t say “no” at all on Tuesday!
• My grandson didn’t cry when I wouldn’t sing the “Hush Baby’” song “just one more time” while putting him down for his nap.

Just imagine if it had been a terrible Tuesday … a cup-half-empty kind of attitude about everything in life, including your disease. Same issues, different perspective:

• Another dreary, wet, cold, dismal day. I’ll most likely get wet socks. I’ll probably get sick. For sure, I’ll get stiffer. Oh, phooey on rain!
• If I had a dog, it would be outside where all animals belong and not shedding hair inside to make more work than I can do anyway. But I don’t have a dog, and that bums me out.
• The dishwasher is so loud that I can’t hear myself complain, and when it finally shuts off, I’ll have to empty the thing.
• I can’t believe what they charge for electric toothbrushes nowadays. Why, when I was a kid …
• I wish I had me a rifle; I’d shoot me a goose.
• It’s raining — again. I hope my grandson doesn’t want to get out in the puddles. Just imagine the mess.

It really is perspective, attitude, and choice — how we choose to look at life and deal with it, even when we’re stuck with having a chronic illness. Having a cup-half-full attitude is so much better than always focusing on the negative, which, by the way, does no one any good, especially those who are living with the disease. We will spend our days miserable with grief if all we think about are the things we are missing out on because of this disease. Or we can change our attitudes and start enjoying the days we do have left.

If you’re feeling shortchanged on life because of having PD or caring for someone with PD, take a minute and count your blessings. There is at least one. Start with that one. You need only to look in the half-full glass and quit staring at and focusing on the half-empty one.

Gotta go. There are some fresh rain puddles my grandson and I have to check out, and maybe a worm or two to rescue from drowning.

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Note: Parkinson’s News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Parkinson’s News Today or its parent company, Bionews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.