A few years ago I adopted the title as “the guy whose glass is always ½ full”. I started this because I wanted to change how I looked at things in my life. I also felt that since this outlook was helping me, I could pass it on. I believe that the reason why so many people have a hard time in life is due to the way they view things. I feel it is important that we see all situations as stepping stones for growth.

In my own life, I have had a series of ups and downs. I don’t feel that my life is any different than anyone else’s. The one thing that makes us human is that we all have to go through life’s challenges.

I feel that regardless of what is going on we have the ability to turn negative events into positive events. We also have the ability to turn positive events into greater events.

As a positive parent staying positive about everything can be the difference in helping my kids get to the next level.

I have seen a lot of things during my 30 years as a parent. There was the time when Wendell Jr. broke his arm at 2 or 3 years old. There was the time when Deshawn  got his first set of stitches and just recently Jonathan had hurt his knee playing with some class mates.

In each of these situations I chose not to over emphasize the events. It serves no purpose to brow beat anyone on the event itself. I need them to see and understand what happened and at the same time to let them know that everything is and will be OK.

Sometimes there is pain associated with these events. I never tried to mask pain. Weather it is physical or emotional, it should be dealt with as soon as possible. As parents the worse thing we could do is to be in denial about the condition of our kids. If we fail to see that pain, it could lead to more serious problems in the future.

For example, my son and his wife lost a child at birth. Losing a child at any age can be devastating and something that I hope that none of us as parents have to experience. Every parent wants their kids to outlive them. In the case of my granddaughter that will not to be the case.

Her death took place 2 years ago and was a result of how life goes. That law of averages says that there are those who will live and there are those who will die. Why my granddaughter was chosen to be on the latter list is an answer we may never know. I also feel that knowing the answer will not make the pain any less.

As “the guy whose glass is always ½ full” it has been my charge to help them get through this rough time. I don’t get to see my daughter-in-law as often as I would like. When they separated she moved back to her home area of Far Rockaway and then came Hurricane Sandy. Her and my other 3 grand kids are OK. I stay in contact with them as often as I can.

My son just began a new job as an outside salesman and since his territory includes the area that I live in, I see him regularly.

As “the guy whose glass is always ½ full” I have learned that the way I look at a situation will determine how successful I am in handling that situation. As I wrote earlier being in denial can be worse than not knowing about it.

I see a glass with water in it. The glass will not magically turn into an orange or an apple. It will always remain as a glass. It’s just a matter of how I view the contents of that glass. One can choose to see it as ½ empty.

This could mean that they have given up hope. They may see that their condition will never change. They see the glass as a prison where the liquid inside is trapped, unable to move.

“The guy whose glass is always ½ full” never sees the water being in a confined space. After all there is no lid on the glass. If he/she looks closely he/she would see that the water is fluid of life. Even as some of the water evaporates we can easily refill it with new ideas that will help us to maintain our positive attitudes.

If we need a quick boost we could even drink the water to refresh us and we can remain assured that at any time we can refill that glass so we can bring it back to its’ ½ full status.

I have chosen to be “the guy whose glass is always ½ full. I have made this choice because I wanted to change the way I was looking at my life. By seeing the glass as ½ full as opposed to ½ empty I feel that I have improved the quality of my life and I also see a change in the way my kids handle their lives. After all they watch me more closely than they listen to me.

I am the guy whose glass is always ½ full.

I LOVE BEING A DAD!!