So today I heard some disturbing news. A man who had an MBA and was in the financial industry killed his wife, three kids and mother- in- law cause he lost all of his money. How disturbing and sad. Another story I heard was that there was a man who was on top of his game, made loads of money, divorced his wife of 21 years, married a younger woman and was married three weeks when the economic collapse occurred. His young wife left him, he lost his apartment and he is now jobless,broke, and homeless.

We are heading for tough times, and people must learn to deal with a kind of adversity they have never known. Being the youngest of five I can remember my father teaching sixth grade all day long, then heading straight to the deli to work through the night. He did this without ever a complaint in order to bring in enough income to feed, dress and keep a roof over his children's head. I am stunned at how spoiled people have become and that includes my own children. Again, when I was young, going out to dinner was a REAL treat. We might go once a month to Howard Johnson's whose clam rolls and chocolate lollipops with the pictures of HJ on them still make my mouth water. Kids today go out to dinner more often in a week then eating at home. The idea of special is lost. As a mother of two ( 16 year old son, 5 year old daughter), I have to remind them constantly not to take for granted all that they have and do. I think it can fall on deaf ears, as did all my mothers stories of walking miles to school, owning one pair of shoes, and living through the depression. It was unimaginable to me.

I am as guilty as the next Mom, giving too many rewards to my children for simple tasks that my mother never even acknowledged . She accuses me of complimenting my children too much. She thinks it breeds a culture of children that grow to be adults that have entitlement issues, since as children they got trophies even when they lost a game. When I was growing up you had to learn how to lose and there were NO rewards. This is what prepares you for life. I am scared that we are not allowing our children to experience good and bad, which in the end will provide them with the experience and tools that are necessary to survive. God knows there are lots of people that are going to need them now.