Negative Nancy

Wifey has pointed out that, as I age, I tend to be more pessimistic about things. Specifically, I assume that matters in others' control will often go wrong. This is because they often do. So two weeks ago I dealt with some incompetence surrounding my new passport. An "expedited service" wasted my time, and would have required me to lie under oath. Since I know a woman who spent two years in federal prison for passport fraud, that wasn't going to happen. Then, at the post office, I spent time using a pen provided by staff to fill out the application, to learn it was black ink -- not allowed. Anyway, when I finally sent off the package, I had little hope of it being completed. Well was I wrong! In only thirteen days, without even paying an extra expedited fee, I received my new passport in the mail. Now I'm good until 2026 - when I'm 65. Will I even care about traveling at that age? All I know is, the Bay of Fundy awaits -- an excursion in just over two months, for Wifey and her BFF Edna's birthday cruise. I never should have doubted the Department of State... In another example of my negativity -- Wifey bought an expensive Dyson vacuum last year. Now -- not worth it, I said -- it will break like all of them, and we'll need to replace it. Well, it did stop working this week, but I went online, and a nice fellow in Chicago, via chat, took some info, and gave me a number. The thing has a 5 year total warranty, and I just needed to bring the machine to a UPS store, and they'll pay to ship it to Tampa for repair. Was I close to Tampa, he needed to know, first. Now, I said, and there's only one reason to ever go there -- Bern's Steakhouse. We started talking about steaks, and he gave me a good lead for our upcoming Chicago trip. So Dyson is coming through, and I learned about a restaurant in the Windy City, too. Meanwhile, Edna was here for a few days -- checking in on her ancient parents. Last night, I took out Wifey, Edna, and our friend Diane to dinner in the Gables -- Ruth's Chris. I felt like Hugh Hefner with the ladies, and we enjoyed ourselves royally. No negativity at all. So I got my passport, and broken vacuum on its way for repair. How can I even think about being a pessimist?