I don’t watch a lot of news anymore, just too busy chasing my two little ones around, but last week I did catch the news a few times and one thing I kept hearing drove me nuts. Every news story I caught regarding the end of 2009 basically called the year ‘horrible’ and that people were glad to be moving on from this ‘horrible’ year. I personally believe that 2009 was not horrible for a majority of Americans so it really bothered me that it was perceived as horrible. I understand it was horrible for some, some that had never been homeless before, had never gone hungry before, or lost a loved one, and my heart breaks for them. But the vast majority of Americans just had to live with a little less (maybe a lot less) and when considering all that we have in this country (more than enough), I was saddened that this was considered horrible. The majority of Americans still had enough food on the table, clothes to wear, and shelter.
Even though we took some financial hits in 2009, I still consider it one of our best years ever. For one thing we became parents to two wonderful boys. Another reason is 2009 taught us some very important lessons in living within our means, being prepared for economic downtimes, and has caused us to grow quite a bit in our financial lives. Plus we both made it through another year with our health. We have great family and friends, and plenty of food.
So if you were someone thinking 2009 was horrible and good riddance to that awful year, I urge you to take another look at the year and think about all you have to be grateful for.
