Drinking The Kool-Aid? Or Choosing The Right Vowel?

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I had an interesting conversation with a friend today.  She commented that we'd been military spouses long enough to know better than to blindly agree when people were trying to make the best of a bad situation, and that we should be willing to say what we think.  She thinks that the current situation at our spouses' shared command is less than ideal and she has been pretty vocal about it.  (This is totally not a personal or personnel issue, but more of an op tempo and mission issue.)  I've spent the afternoon thinking about her comments, and looking from them from a variety of perspectives.  Every time, I start out agreeing with what she says, then talk myself around to the opposite point of view.  I'm not sure if I'm crazy, or brilliant, or a little of both.

One of our favorite mottos here at SpouseBUZZ is "Bitter or Better, choose your vowel."  I have taken this close to my heart.  I don't always practice it all aspects of my life, but I try diligently to apply it to the discomforts of being married to a person in the military.  In my opinion, there is a distinct difference between choosing to be happy, from the inside out, and trying to fake happiness because someone else has decreed that you should.   And you know the most remarkable part?  It isn't even hard.

For example, Mr. He of the Sea recently got to go on a surprise trip and we weren't sure how long he would be gone.  I immediately decided that there was no way that this trip could possibly rival the length of General McChrystal's voyage, or even General Casey's impressive excursion.  I made this comparison very purposefully, because it gave me the right perspective to view this little adventure.  Because, let's be serious, how can I really complain about a possible couple of months if I've actually considered the alternatives?

In light of my friend's comments today, I'm pretty sure that she would dismiss my optimism as evidence that I was failing to think for myself on this matter.   Maybe I've just been drinking too much Kool-Aid, but I think that exactly the opposite is true.  I don't really care what anyone else thinks.  I just want to be happy, and that is a choice I've made.

So, as usual, I'm curious.  Surely you have thoughts on this subject.  Does it make you crazy when people are chipper and upbeat about obviously less-than-ideal situations, or are you the person who bounces around saying ridiculously positive things even when faced with a negative situation.  (Goodness gracious...I've so convinced myself that I find it hard to even type the words "negative situations" without thinking of some truly ghastly things.)  I'm sure that there will be some opposing points of view, and that's OK.  Let 'em out in the comments.

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