The Next Day...

One day you're getting your locks colored and highlighted at that fancy salon, dropping $140. The next, your mother is coloring your hair using a drugstore box of Garnier Nutrisse Brown Sugar #63 in the middle of your kitchen with an avocado green towel draped around your shoulders.

One day you are shopping at Nordstrom's for a new pair of shoes. The next, you are in a consignment store, haggling with the owner because $5 is too much for those hot pink clogs.

One day you are eating a fancy lunch out with the girls overlooking the water. The next, you find yourself brown bagging PB&J and a thermos of coffee, overlooking your desk name plate.

One night you go out on "date night" with your spouse because that's what all the Parenting magazines say you should do. The next, you're watching a library DVD on a picnic blanket on the living room floor with a flashlight as you munch on generic Cheese Doodles.

One day you are on a cruise ship sipping margaritas and eating shrimp. The next, you are stuffed inside an inflatable pool with 2 kids in your backyard sipping a Capri sun. Umbrella optional.

One day you are on top of the world and have no worries about money. The next? Can you hear the sound of Large Marge sitting on a whoopee cushion? That's the sound of the Recession my friends.

It's possible that some of you reading this have no concept of the above "Next day" examples and cannot identify with money troubles. If that is the case, I am very happy for you and I encourage you to continue stimulating the economy (someone has to, right?).

In recent blogs, I have made references to certain "Elephants in the Room". Well, this one is no exception. The big gray animal in question is not the Recession itself, but it is the Shame, Discomfort, and Fear we all feel about not having enough money to do certain things in life.

There, I said it and now I feel so...much...better!

The truth is, so many people are suffering financial and emotional losses and are so afraid to admit it for fear that people will look down on them. I always feel that honesty is the best policy in life, unless you are asking a question to which you really don't want the honest answer. Like, honey, does my butt look fat in these lycra tights?

So, for now, I'm just throwing this concept out there for you to think about and digest. Money doesn't define you as a person, a wife, mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter or friend. Having more of it and more material possessions does not make you superior to anyone and conversely, having less of it doesn't make you inferior. Money might give you a lot of peace of mind, but it sure does not buy true, inner peace and happiness.