I am declaring war on cynicism.

Sometimes I complain and grumble about unimportant things. For example, I used to complain that I wasn't in school. Now I complain about difficult homework assignments. Sometimes I complain that my face breaks out and I'm nearly 30. Sometimes I complain that I'm nearly 30, period. Sometimes I whine about having a pudgy tummy and then I whine about exercising. I whine about grocery stores, I whine about running out of Rain Berry Gatorade, and I whine about how the apartment still smells "weird." And then I complain about people who put quotation marks around words for emphasis. I grumble about it being too hot, I grumble when it starts to drizzle-rain. Sometimes I even grumble about hypothetical things that haven't even happened: "What if my teacher hates my assignment?" "What if this book comes a week late?" "What if my hair gets all nappy and my students don't take me seriously?" Boo hoo hoo pooh pooh pooh.

I've been sort of grumbly in the periphery of my Lubbock days. I think it stems from stress and anxiety. But who cares what it stems from--it's turning me into a Cynical Cynthia!

So here is Part I of my top ten list of lovely things I should think about the next time I start to get a little cock-eyed pessimistic:

10. It's October, which has always been my favorite month. It's a month of Harvest Spice candles, homemade decorations, pumpkin bread, thunderstorms, and Ray Bradbury readathons. The air will soon become crisp and the birds will start to fly into Lubbock. According to the Audubon Society, Lubbock is home to thousands of Sandhill Cranes in the winter. I'm hoping some of the Sandhill Cranes David and I met in southeastern Idaho will come bearing good news from the northwest.

9. A new Professor Layton game just came out for the DS. Davie and I love puzzles, and we also love gentlemen in top hats. Trust me: I used to think the DS was incredibly lame until I played this delightful little narrative game. I had given up on video games entirely since these days they are all about sex and cussing, but the DS has given me new hope. The second best DS game out there is the Ace Attorney series, where you play a defense lawyer. Silly, silly games, but also very wise. They're just as good as Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books, and they require about the same amount of reading.

8. This clip of John Ritter playing $25,000 Pyramid. Thanks goes to Dave's friend Dave for forwarding this to us. There's no way he could have known that John Ritter is a longtime crush and idol of mine. This video will convince you why:

7. I'm doing a research project right now on Charles and Mary Lamb. Charles is known for writing essays, creative non-fiction--what my husband writes. Mary is his sister. They lived together their whole lives. Mary had mental health problems and one day, while she was caring for their elderly parents, she had a manic episode and tragically killed her mother. Charles will stick by her forever after that, and there are accounts of the two of them walking together up the road to a mental asylum whenever Mary showed signs of another episode, Charles carrying a straitjacket for just in case. I love the Lambs. I am always touched when I read about the details of their lives. They also wrote literature for children together, and that's what I'm writing about this semester. Charles and Mary Lamb remind me what it means to be the opposite of cynical. They are all hope and endurance to me, even in reading about their struggles.

6. David is probably going to be my number one, too, for whenever I decide to write Part II of my anti-cynicism post, but he's going to make today's list, too. I won't bore anybody with an exhaustive list of everything this man does for me, but I will just mention that whenever I do get grumbly, he never turns on me or tells me to just drop it already. He just listens. And waits. And sometimes he tells me to lie down for a while and he'll cover me with a blanket, bring me a Nalgene full of water, and come back a few minutes later with half a grilled cheese sandwich. Sometimes he'll play soft music on his guitar or turn on Mary Poppins (even though we both agree that Mary Poppins is a twit and pompous jerk. Bert is way too good for her). I'm very grateful for this man, and for how he makes me feel safe. It takes real love to find a way to make your woman laugh even when she is busy being terrified about the very eternities of the universe. The least I could do in return is to stop whining about the details. Life is too short to make any of those complaints worth it.

So! I raise my cup to CHEERINESS, GRATITUDE, and HEARTY HANDSHAKES with LIFE: HUZZAH! HUZZAH! *the crowd goes WILD*