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Susan Acker:
Family matters most during recession

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Jaclyn Mittman:
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Posted Dec. 12, 2008

Susan Acker
Managing Editor

Grab the booze, sit down with some comfort food and pull out your best deck of cards—now you are ready for the recession.
According to a search I conducted on Google.com, recession-proof businesses are bars and casinos.

And with these somewhat depressing times, eating comfort food can be very popular.

I am not sure about your cravings for comfort food, but I have sure been craving some of my great aunt Rita’s famous homemade macaroni and cheese.

Another thing I have noticed about the recession is the change in attitude toward Christmas.

Some of my friends mine and myself are honing our skills in making gifts as opposed to waiting in the ridiculously long lines at the stores in the mall. We are also avoiding paying exorbitant amounts of money for gifts that are essentially just dust collectors.

My friend Lisa and I have both been working on crocheting special gifts for our friends and family.

Though the blankets and scarves I am making are not designer caliber, they carry much more meaning, and are more thoughtful gifts. They are also a lot more economical and useful than that millionth boxed soap set so many of us receive Christmas-after-Christmas, birthday-after-birthday.

I have also noticed that many people are more friendly this year. Maybe it is because so many have realized how petty and truly disgusting this season can be. The best example of that is the killing of a Wal-Mart employee by shoppers who thought that a deal on something at Wal-Mart was more important than a man’s life.

This event really struck me and made me think about what is truly important. And I think that others have been taking inventory of their lives and views as well. Most, if not all of us, are in the same boat, and we are all affected by the recession. There seems to be a sense of comradery. It is not so easy now to judge others who are less fortunate, and it is harder not to care because we all understand.

I am also looking forward to Christmas this year because of the truly important things that are not affected by the recession, like spending time with family.

Someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I thought for a second, and I realized that all I really want for Christmas this year is to see my sister, spend time with my family and friends and enjoy this time of year.

I guess that family and friends are the other things and the most important things that are recession-proof. My friends and family do not care how much money I make or how much I spend on their Christmas presents. They just care about me. And I care about them. Money really does not matter.

Instead of grabbing a bottle of booze or spending your holiday vacation at a casino and feeling sorry for yourself and fretting about the economy and all of the other things wrong with the world that you cannot fix, take some time with your family and friends, the most important recession-proof things around.

But maybe, just maybe, indulge in just a little bit of comfort food. Sometimes a little homemade macaroni and cheese can make everything in the world seem all right again.

Susan Acker, a senior journalism major, is managing editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at susan.acker@laverne.edu.