Doom and Gloom.

I don't know if it's a result of my time in Al-Anon, but one thing which has become glaringly obvious to me in the last while, is the large number of people who have only negative responses to offer when I talk about my new adventure.

I've heard a wide variety of versions of this dirge of negativity. The same ones who assured us with great authority that we'd never be able to live successfully in a small town, are now assuring us that the only reason we've been so successful is that we live in a small town, and we will fail dismally in the city. We've been told that crime is rampant, taxes are higher, people are unfriendly, that our move is a bad idea for any number of reasons.

Why do people do this? What do they get out of it? It's not a response I understand, and I've had days where I've had to bite my tongue not to snap something smartaleck back to the naysayers. My spouse finds it amusing, and has started to keep an informal tally of positive to negative. They came home one day laughing, and told me that the very same friend who had predicted utter failure here, was now predicting utter failure in the city, for precisely the same reasons.

I've been surprised to discover how many program friends respond in this same way - my detachment skills have been getting a good workout lately.

I'm choosing to put my faith in God; He's got a better attitude about these things.