I love life, and I joyfully awake early without an alarm. I hop out of bed at 5:00 or 5:30 a.m., ready to start my day. I have always been this way, purposely signing up for 8:00 a.m. university classes the entire four years. My sister-in-law Marilyn could luxuriate in bed upon awakening, watching the television for background noise while dozing off again for another hour. Under layers of blankets, my mother read the newspaper and drank her coffee, returning throughout the day to what she deemed her “favorite piece of furniture.”

While I possess an inner joy of living, at the same time, I acknowledge that as humans, daily life often provides us with overwhelming stress. I am at the age where friends are becoming ill, some gravely and permanently, reminding me to never take for granted my early morning wake-ups. Once my eyes open, I glance at my husband and make sure he’s breathing, for I have the same concern about him. While he is wired differently, with a more pessimistic, anxious nature, he treasures daily life as well, and we have been "in it" together for almost 49 years.

As an optimist, I see the proverbial glass half full, which is the good fortune of genetics, taking after my easygoing father. For example, as an optimist, I know I will find a parking space somewhere, while my husband reiterates, “We will never find one. Then what?” I do not argue with such a view. He must process his anxiety in his own way. However, despite my "up" personality, I am also a........

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