Safety, good health and loving family – these are the things that give me gratitude and appreciation. When I get stuck listening to that radio blare on about Casey Anthony’s bizarre life or About Rep. Weiner and his photo sessions, I ponder about how grateful I am that I am working (hooray for me! I got a full-time contract-hire job with a big company 3 weeks ago), how grateful I am that we had the sense to pay cash for our house when we downsized BEFORE the market swelled up, how oddly appreciative I am of the 3 years of scrapping to make ends meet when I was out of full time work and how weird life is when you just let go and have faith.

If it wasn’t for the mortgage meltdown, I would still be appraising properties and  hating it. I would never have discovered Lillian who let me write for her magazine. I would never have started my charity, Books For Vets. I would never have started proposal and grant writing. I would never have learned how to organize and hold a fundraiser golf tournament. I would never have appreciated the job I have now. I have a new opportunity to do what I have finally discovered comes easy to me: writing. And I love it.

Thank you Barnie Frank and Chris Dodd for screwing around with Fannie and Freddie. Thank you  Bill Clinton who began the mandate to include people who could not pay for a mortgage to be approved for a mortgage. Thank you Federal Reserve and AIG for your greed to melt the market that melted my business and forced me to learn a new trade.

Isnt life great when you look at it from a different angle?