I just watched The Sound of Music for the bazillionth time. I have loved that movie ever since the first time I saw it, and loved the music itself long before that---I took voice lessons for a while, and the title song is one of the pieces I learned. I also had read the book on which the movie is based, so I pretty much knew the story.

It's a story that goes along with my notion that things often work out for the best. I have always been a fairly optimistic person, with a dose of realism thrown in---I'm usually aware of what the worst case is, but I rarely give up hope.

That does not mean I go play Susie Sunshine for people. I hate it when I am sad and someone tries to force me to cheer up. The only time I ever think that's appropriate is when the cheerer-upper wannabe really does have the solution to what's wrong. And those times are few.

Most of the time, if I'm trying to solve a problem for myself, I want some time to ponder. I rarely tell other people what I'm thinking while the pondering is going on, unless I need information from them. In the pondering process, I'm likely to change my mind more than once, like doing a rough draft of something before the final version. I want to consider the variables.

And the last thing in the world I want is someone else telling me what to do, especially if they're prone to being pessimistic.

But anyone who would like to chime in with, "You'll figure it out, I'm sure!" is welcome to do so, any time I'm pondering. That kind of cheering section is one of my favorite things.