February 27: I like to think that I am fundamentally an optimistic person. Left to their own devices, I believe people will usually do the right thing. Glass half-full. That sort of thing.
This is the most optimistic time of the year. Although it’s not quite Spring, the days are longer, the sun is stronger, and there are signs of the change in season everywhere. (These little shoots are right outside my back door in a west-facing garden.) I was a “Summer baby” and I love warmer weather. I find that there are more things to do and it’s easier to be active when the weather is mild.
Yet I know that we are more than a month away from a time when we can reliably say that there will be no more snow. I know for a fact that it always snows in April – usually just after I have my motorcycle taken out of storage – and this year will be no exception. This doesn’t dull my enthusiasm for warmer weather, it just adds a note of realism to my optimism.
One of my running friends has taken to calling me Eeyore after the gloomy, pessimistic donkey in 
Winnie-the-Pooh. Very cute, but I think it’s unfair to equate a healthy dose of skepticism with being permanently down-in-the-dumps. A recent article in the Globe and Mail said that skeptical people are more inclined to be content with their life since they are less likely to be disappointed when things suddenly or unaccountably don’t work out in their favour.
And so I remain optimistic and hopeful, while also knowing that there are no guarantees of permanently sunny days ahead. Without the ups and downs life would really be pretty boring. Awareness brings me contentment, even if some people see only long grey ears and a tail.