I'm sitting here waiting for my students to log in to our online tutoring room, so I'll make use of the time by jotting down some of this morning's thoughts.
One of the big reasons I am enjoying this economic downturn is that I have begun to be thankful for the "little" things in life. For example, this morning I went to Safeway and bought a few things that we needed. This probably doesn't seem like a huge deal to the average American family, but our family has existed solely on meat and bonus boxes from the food bank and fruits/veggies from the co-op, for more than 6 weeks now. To walk into Safeway and buy whatever I please is a fantastic treat and I was nearly giddy on the way home.
We needed eggs, milk, dryer sheets, and this powerade mix that D. has been using so that he doesn't spend $5 at a convenience story each day. I used the cash that I made at my scrapbook party to buy these things and a few treats for us. The store brand mini-wheats were on sale, but I also bought the boys Honey Comb, Quaker Oat Squares, and Oh's. Because of the tight budget we have been keeping, they have not had big-name cereal in a while and it makes me smile to think of how excited they will be tomorrow morning when I surprise them. I marvel at the fact that it has taken a recession to make me appreciate their joy in small gifts.
Don't worry, I also bought something for myself. I have been drying our heavy clothes outside in the FREE warm air, to save on electricity, so I was happy to find a pretty-smelling Downy on clearance. Now, our towels won't be stiff and crinkly. Yay!
