A Year of Blogging: December 3, 2011

December 3 is 'National Roof Over Your Head' day. It is a day to be thankful for what we have- starting with a roof over our head. It seems so very basic, but when you think of the people who don't even have that, you have a new appreciation for home sweet home. Sure, my kitchen is tiny. I bake 60 dozen cookies at Christmas time with two feet of counter space. Erich and I are always tripping over each other if we are both in the kitchen at the same time. The bathrooms are still in the midst of a going on eight year remodel. The house does not have enough storage. And the people who built it didn't put insulation in the walls, so it's a bit drafty in the winter. But at least I have a place to come to every night. We are warm. We have lights. We have a kitchen to cook in. Middletown, like so many industrial towns or cities, has been hit hard by the housing downturn. A couple of houses on our street have gone into foreclosure. Drive a couple of blocks away and you go down Van Est, which is a very long street. Both sides of the street are filled with small Cape Cod style homes which were built after WWII. You can almost see the houses being put up quickly to provide housing for the returning soldiers. It is a part of town that has been hit especially hard. While the houses are small and not expensive, the people who bought them bought them because it was what they could afford. If they lose their income, even the small house becomes too much. Easily 25% of the houses on the street are vacant- in some form of foreclosure. As we drove down the street today, I thought how very sad it looked with all the abandoned houses. And yet, the neighbors who are still there have some of the best Christmas displays I have seen. Their whole yards are full of decorations. They are lighting up their corner of the world. No doubt as they look out across the street, they count their blessings. Things have been rough in our house for the past couple of years, but at least we have a house. I am thankful for that each night when I snuggle into my bed. Everyone should be so blessed.