My father has been known to be a bit of a worrier. His best friend said to him once, \u201cYou know, you should have been born a bump on a log, then you would have nothing to worry about,\u201d and I think my dad kind of liked that idea actually. He thinks about this constantly: \u201cWhat\u2019s the worst that could happen?\u201d He slices his license plate registration sticker with a razor blade after he puts it on so that if anyone tries to peel it off, it won\u2019t come off in one piece, and might deter them from stealing it. He walks into the Post Office to drop off his letters instead of leaving them to their fate in a streetside mailbox. He often pays for meals with cash but will wait to hand it to the restaurant staff instead of just leaving it on the table. You get the idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Me being young at first and then forever optimistic, I had trouble understanding this seeming focus on negativity. Then one day I asked him about it. I viewed it as not the best use of time to take all these preventative measures but he had a different view. He said, \u201cI do all those things because then at least I know that even if the worst happens, I did everything I could to prevent it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I probably still have a different view from him on most of these things but learning to identify the worst-case scenario is an invaluable skill that I\u2019m grateful to have learned, even if I remain an optimist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My father has been known to be a bit of a worrier. His best friend said to him once, \u201cYou know, you should have been born a bump on a log, then you would have nothing to worry about,\u201d and I think my dad kind of liked that idea actually. He thinks about this constantly: … <\/p>\n