My Day Compared To What?

I can't say this was a good day for me, but compared to the days of many people right now, I believe it should be a very good day. I don't have a son, daughter or granchild in Iraq. I can't even imagine the fear of the people who have loved ones over there, which has to make my day better than their day. I know there are adults, both young and old, who are extremely worried about their retirement accounts. Although my business stressed me to the limit, I know how good I have it compared to many. Congress did not pass the "bailout" bill intended to rescue the economy. People are frightened about their future. My stress seems minor in comparison. I have a director who is the best I have ever had working for me again, but her need for perfection is taking her to the edge. I hope I gave her the support she needed, but I am stressing over her stress. Our company is financially stretched. We made some major property improvements this year not anticipating a collapsing economy That means we used up a lot of our capital, so now we are capital thin at a time when banks may not be loaning money. Marty is the Chief Financial Officer. He is worried. I am stressing over his stress. He is my son and has always made only the best financial decisions. He is one of those rare people with a credit score in the 800's. I don't worry for myself. I was born on the edge of the depression. I recognize it was different then, as Marty has pointed out to me. We could grow our vegetables. Our water came from the ground. We didn't have electricity, so we didn't need it. I didn't give him a very good answer, because I told him I know that where I grew up is still out there in the heartland, and if necessary, I know we can share it with some of the folks who I love that still live there. That really isn't what keeps me from "losing it" during this trying time. It's just that I have lived long enough to know that whatever happens now, we (the United States of America and its citizens) are all in it together. We are brought closer and learn from our most challenging times in life. I know that either Congress will stop playing politics when our livelihood is threatened and they will pass that "bailout" bill this week, or American citizens will come together to rebuild this country in a way to make it even better than it has ever been in the past. Some of us may have just forgotten along the way or are too young to know how much we share in common with each other. I believe we learn compassion from needing compassion. We learn to be generous when we need others to be generous with us. I hope tomorrow will be better for all...and me too.