Hi,
Yes, Lisa, that is exactly what he is saying. He had his troubles with depression, which does run in my family, but he also had the strain of optimism, which kept him alive and happy as long as it did. Ten years ago, he was in very bad shape, we thought he was dying then, but with my mother's help he recovered, and then, while he was still unable to get out of the bed on his own, he got in the mail an advertisement from a foresters' organization (he was a forester) for a trip to Italy in six weeks, and he told my mother to send in the deposit for both of them. And six weeks later they flew to Italy.

I have been thinking of the happiest people I have known, and the fact is, all of their lives were full of both good and bad things, some quite horrible, things that they could never forget. But somehow, some people manage to be positive, while others always look on the negative side. Very trite, I know, and not even very helpful: if you happen to have a negative outlook, i suppose it is hard to turn it around. But I am trying to cultivate positive thoughts, although it is hard when I can only lie on my back, and both my back and my front hurt. But I did get the stiches out, and that was an improvement. And my daughter cooked us a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.
She managed to roast the turkey upside down, but actually the breast was a lot juicier that way, I recommend it!!!
Leena