Good News/ Bad News

Some days it seems that everywhere I turn there's more bad news and I can't take another story about a missing child, school shooting, or economic down turn.  There are several websites which focus on only good news:  miracle babies, heroic rescues and video after video of cute animals being unbelievably adorable.  Unfortunately, these sites are incredibly boring.  What is good news without a little bad news to spice it up?  So here, for your perusal, is my offering of a little yin and yang, a little bad with the good.

It was announced that John Edwards' sex tape will not be released to anyone anytime soon. This is indeed very good news.  It was decided that the video of him doing the wild thing with his mistress has no bearing on his upcoming criminal trial.  The bad news is the fact that such a tape ever existed.  Ewww--the thought alone gives me nightmares.  (Did his hair get messed up?  Was there a sound track?  I'm suddenly not feeling very well.)

The movie adaptation of the "Hunger Games" book has opened with a resounding success. World famous movie reviewer and seventh grader at Lakewood Middle School, Abbie Graf, having seen the movie opening weekend with her devoted mother and again the second weekend with her English class (escorted by her loving father) gave it two thumbs up and dubbed it her "favorite movie ever."  The bad news is these parents will now be barraged with endless discussion of movie vs. book, Peeta vs. Gale, et cetera and so forth.  (Also in the bad news arena:  several movie goers apparently tweeted their disappointment that the character of Rue was played by an African American girl.  This leads me to the conclusion that racists need to work on their reading comprehension, as well as their world view.)

A new study suggests that people who eat chocolate have a lower body mass index than those who don't.  Chocolate makes you skinny!  This is the kind of story that people like me dream of--right up there with winning the lottery or getting your own flying unicorn.  It seems dark chocolate may contain enough antioxidants to help balance your metabolism and a treat that is high in calories may produce a feeling of fullness sooner, thus causing you to stop eating.  The bad news is I and every other chocolate lover will undoubtedly use this as an excuse to overindulge.  Too much of a good thing is bad news.

My spend son will be turning 16 in a couple weeks and will be getting his driver's license. This is good news, as I'll have one less kid that needs to be carted around. No more waiting in a cold, dark parking lot when soccer practice runs late, no more trying to figure out how to get three kids to three different places at the same time. What will I do with all my free time? The bad news is now I'll have to invest way too much energy worrying if he got to practice safely, why he's so late getting home, and wondering if he's lying in a ditch somewhere.

As with the idea of yin and yang, the secret to a sane life is balance.  Lots of horrible things happen in our world every day, but lots of wonderful things take place, too.  Hold tight to the good stuff and try not to let the bad stuff weigh you down.  Some days I am clinging to the fantasy chocolate diet and my dream of a flying unicorn for dear life.