Killer Economy Strengthens Home And Family

This land is your land, this land is my land… Until your lender forecloses. Vacant homes, playmates going to other schools, and empty seats at church are signs that lives are being changed by a wicked economy. Yet there is proof that diamonds are created under tremendous pressure.

Older children are moving back in with their parents. Young couples and older couples are sharing a home with Mom and Dad. They are renting their home because they cannot sell it in this market. They do not want to lose it entirely. So the extended family is under one roof for a time.

My father-in-law thought my fitness equipment was a waste of money but found some room for it in the basement. However he surprised us when he asked if he could hold my daughter’s dreadnought acoustic guitar. Then he proceeded to play and actually sing. My mother-in-law is an avid reader and has fallen in love with my wife’s kindle reader.

Our financial difficulties led us home. Not our home but our family’s home. I was not prepared for the surprises. I came home from work and Pop was playing a popular guitar video game with the kids. He was totally jamming and the kids were grinning. Was it possible that we were all changing or just revealing what was already inside us?

My parents computer is now being used to organize my Dad’s stamp collection. My mother is working on a family history site and my daughter is actually comparing it to the interest she has in popular forensic shows on television. My Dad bought a used guitar at a garage sale and we have been playing together.

My father-in-law and I have become friends. That is different from being related by marriage. It’s much better. We share a passion for old airplanes and have traveled as far as 300 miles to attend an airshow with the tribe. We spend time together fishing and he finally asked me to show him how some of my exercise gear works.

He talked to me about the war, about coming home to Mom and starting a family. He told me about his parents passing away when I was very young. He told me that people, especially men always argue about when we become grownups. He told me that he thinks it is when your parents die because until then you are always somebody’s little boy.

The kids laughed at my goofy hairdo and funny outfit. Then my daughter said, ‘You have grandpa’s smile Dad’. I looked at the picture and at my father. Then I looked at my son’s smile. It was a match. That’s when I knew that when a bad economy steals every penny you have you can still wrap your arms around everything you treasure. Guess what? Those kind of riches will hug you back.

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