NOW You Tell Us We're In A Recession??!?!

When I saw the posts on CNN earlier, I only had one thought:

"DUH!!!!"

And when I saw that the economic panel had declared us in a recession since last December, I thought, "What the hell took ya so long?"

And when CNN.com had a quick poll today that asked, "Should bank executives who fought mortgage regulation be held accountable?" I voted, "Hell, yes!"

I wasn't alone; 92% of respondants agreed with me.

I was never a student of economics, nor was I ever good at math, but the financial crisis, as well as my own financial crisis last year, really got me paying attention to the economy and the market.

It all started with the Lehman Brothers fiasco, followed by AIG, followed by the market crash. Then came the bailout bill, and talk of the housing market foreclosures, and layoffs...

It all hit way too close to home.

My parents are both retired, living on fixed incomes, and they assure me and my sister that they are financially stable and sound. Still, I worry. My sister has set up a room just in case something happens and Dad has to move in with her. She revealed this to me Thanksgiving weekend. And then I revealed to her that I had done something similar should Mom have to move in with me.

You want your family to be safe and secure. You want your loved ones to be OK. You want everyone to be protected and happy, with nothing bad ever happening to them.

So what happens when something bad happens?

I remember my mom driving back and forth, almost every weekend, to New York when her mother had pancreatic cancer. That same year, my dad drove back and forth, almost every weekend, to New Jersey when his dad had mesothelioma.

Grandpa died in July, when Grandma was diagnosed.

Grandma died that November, shortly before Thanksgiving.

I don't remember too many details, as I was nine years old at the time, but I do remember my parents were stressed and short with each other. They tried hard to hide their grief from me and my sister, but they weren't always successful. My mom told me years later that it nearly broke up their marriage.

I don't know how my sister and I will be able to handle losing either of our parents. We both know that it will happen, but we want it to happen later than sooner.

Neither of us have any kids. Neither of us want to have kids. What's going to happen when it's just the two of us?

Why am I thinking about this right now?!?!?

Why am I in such a melancholy mood right now?

And how did I get from recession to death?

I'd better quit while I'm ahead...