Stepping gingerly across the ice; is that a cracking sound I hear?

Well, this is it. The recession has officially hit home. Jeremy is now being forced to take an unpaid week off, potentially the first of several this year. Unpaid = smaller paycheck = screwed us. I am beginning to get fearful. I was speaking to my grandmother a few weeks ago about living through the great depression. She and her husband had to survive on his wages working one day a week. I cannot imagine how they did it. And she said they were lucky that he had any work at all. I don't think things will get that bad here, but I'm suddenly thinking very hard about what we would possibly do if Jer lost his job. With no savings and lots of debt, it looks rather bleak. All we can do is pray that it won't come to that and that we will make it through to better days ahead. I am especially trying hard not to be resentful of those around me who are not feeling the pinch of these times at all. I know that we have a lot to be thankful for, that there are many who are much worse off than us. It's just a wee bit hard to see some people spending and vacationing, etc. etc. as though they have not a care in the world. Ah well, we just have to tighten those belts a bit further, I guess. Hopefully we won't run out of holes.

Well, other than our underpants, of course...

Wow, you know, as far as wells go, mine has been as dry as a bone for a very long time. I just sit down, click that little "new post" button, and stare at an empty white reflection of my brain. Nothing. I just have nothing interesting to talk about. I am at this point where I don't want to complain about things, cause I'm frankly sick of whiney people. Neither do I want to preach, cause I'm totally sick of preachy people. And people who write about how awesomely awesome their families and lives are ya di da di da make me mildly sick to my stomach, so I certainly don't want to do that. And where does this leave me? With nothing at all to talk about. In the immortal words of Toad, "Bleh."

My life is going well, if a tad on the predictable side. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Tragedy and difficulty are an excitement I can do without, thank you very much. No, I very much like my predictable peaceful existence. Winter is a time of hybernation for me, when my brain kind of holes up inside my head and does its best not to think too much about anything grander than what we will be having for dinner and whether there will be anything distracting on TV tonight. I truly do not like to leave the house in the winter, and consider it a mild miracle that I actually kept up my Monday piano lesson/ library story time date throughout the season. Jeremy brought the boys to their ski lessons, and swimming consists of me rolling up to the door of the Y, watching the boys hop out with their duffle bag and cards in hand, and driving back home again. I don't even have to wear pants if I don't want to (although, rest assured, I do. At least, most of the time...). Other than that, I hardly leave the house at all in the winter. And that's the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it...

But now spring is once again poking it's grubby little nose in my face, and I find myself actually relishing my annual emergence into the sunshine. Nightly walks are back, this year with the addition of an independent Julia sans stroller (which she begins to regret right around the three-quarters point) and a very adorably alert Jade.

Speaking of the girls, the sudden weather change has also brought about some nasty cold bugs, so some prayers would be appreciated. There is something so heart-rending about those sweet little watery eyes and sniffly noses. When she's feeling particularly miserable, Julia has taken to proclaiming in a most pathetically dramatic sigh "It's a hard knock life for me." Oh, my poor, poor baby.

Other than that, nothing else has really changed around here. And for that, I am very, very grateful.