I'm Grateful

It seems like it's time for another list of what I am grateful for:

1) We can afford our mortgage. In a time when many, many people are having to foreclose, we are still doing alright, even with two car payments and a new baby.

2) Our jobs are economy-proof. Again, this means a lot right now.

3) We can still afford to contribute 10% of our income to retirement.

4) Retirement is still an option for us.

5) Our health insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance and all the other perks of working for a major corporation and a government agency are still in tact.

6) We are all healthy.

7) Most of the people that I know are being sheltered from the worst of the financial recession that nobody will call a recession.

8) We can choose to travel if we want too.

9) We can still afford to buy fresh fruit, fresh veggies and organic dairy products.

10) Our families are healthy and happy.

11) We're going to become Aunts again (Congratulations, Jodie and Thomas!!)

12) We have each other - come what may, we have each other.

There are a million other things I'm grateful for, but I see the kind of toll that the economic downturn is having on many people. I watch folks who just can't make the ends meet any more and I am so grateful that we are not in that position. Don't get me wrong - we're not rolling in the dough by any means. But we can afford our choices and that means something. It's something I am proud of (because we've made good choices) and it's something I am grateful for (because even when you make good choices, life is not always that simple).