"I think it's pretty clear," Hope said as she calmed down a bit. "But when you feel the way I do, it's as if the positive road is closed with a big sign that says Do Not Enter, if you know what I mean. And besides, what about venting?" Hope asked. "Sometimes you need to let it out. Sometimes a person just needs to complain. You hear psychologists say it all the time. That it's healthy to vent, and if people don't have an outlet, then it's bad for their health. Ironic don't you think, since you work in a hospital?"

"The psychologists are wrong!" shouted Joyce, raising her hand in the air.

"They are right about one thing. We were born to complain. As babies, we cried our hearts out to get what we want. When we were hungry, we cried and our Momma fed us. When we were tired, we cried and we were rocked to sleep. We cried to get our way all the time, and it worked like a charm. Unfortunately, far too many are still using an adult form of crying—called complaining—to get what they want or to express their feeling of helplessness. But just as we learned not to suck our thumb and sleep without a night-light, we must also outgrow the habit of complaining. There are certainly better and more productive ways to deal with our negative feelings. Sure, we all need to complain once in a while. Everyone does. But, Hope, I've got you pegged, and you are not a one-time complainer. You sound as if you've had a lot of practice. And there are millions of people like you. I call them CCs—Chronic Complainers—and they're not only hurting themselves but annoying everyone else. It's like the great football coach Lou Holtz said, 'Don't complain. Eighty percent of the people you complain to don't care and 20 percent are glad you have problems.'"

Hope went from angry to sad very quickly. She knew Joyce was right, and she knew her daughter was right. She was a CC. The writing was on the wall. No wonder so many people avoided her lately. They didn't want to listen to her.

Joyce continued, "No matter what the psychologists say, complaining doesn't make us feel better. Maybe temporarily, but in the long run complaining creates a cycle of negativity that feeds itself and grows. Think about it. For years psychologists had their patients hit punching bags to relieve anger only to find out recently that this practice creates more violence. It works the same with complaining. When we complain, we feed the negativity. You know what I'm talking about, Hope? Some people wouldn't have anything to say if they weren't complaining."

"Yeah, like me," Hope answered with a look of despair. "You know, it wasn't always like this. I used to be an eternal optimist. I used to be the one all my friends called to cheer them up. Then he left me. Then he crushed my heart. It's just like you said. As time went on I became more negative. I grew more bitter and angry every day, and now look at me. The fact is, I feel like I'm dying every day instead of living. I used to believe in miracles and signs that guided me in the right direction. Now the only miracle I wish for is for the strength to get out of bed in the morning."

"It's okay, girl. You can quit any time you want. As my sister says, you can get off the Complain Train and hop on the Energy Bus any time you want. You can get off the negative road and hop on the positive road right now. The positive road is never closed. And if you ever get off of it, you can always get back on.

"What do you say? Let's go get you that ultrasound and while we're at it, we'll hop on the positive road together."

"Sure," said Hope, who was surprised at her response. She was about to learn her fate and was facing the possibility of really bad news. Yet Joyce made her feel better than she had in a long time. She just hoped her test wouldn't give her something else to complain about.