Something Good

I know I quote show tunes a lot. But besides English, it's really the only other language I know. So today we're quoting from The Sound of Music. "Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good." It's easy to look at my life as a long series of failures. Career, weight, personal relationships, that whole Debbie Gibson era. I've made a lot of mistakes, a lot of crazy choices and failed. A lot. But somewhere, somehow, I got Michael. Completely undeserved and unexpected. A shining, gleaming success.

Admittedly, I've been enthusiastic, but skeptical about this whole adventure. I'm a skeptical person. Pessimistically, reservedly skeptical. And it's just in my nature to expect disaster around every corner. Somehow, Michael is optimistic, open-minded and expects the best outcome in any situation. I suppose there's a lesson to be learned there, self-fulfilling prophesy and how we make our own luck and good fortune and all that. To be fair, I do bring a little helpful pragmatism to the relationship. Like when Michael's standing in a puddle of water and about to stick a fork in the toaster, I tend to say, "Please don't do that."

So somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done some little thing, some act of kindness that the universe noted and said, "We'll give him Michael later on, that'll shut up all his complaining for the rest of his life." Whatever it was, I'm glad I did it. Though if it was nice, I'm sure I probably did it by mistake. But I'm not complaining.