My life is a train wreck, happening in slow motion, even though John and Mary are better than they've ever been. I'm unemployed, with no job prospects, and dwindling savings, and an IRA that is worth less than half of its 2007 value. It would be cut in half again by taxes and penalties if I tried to take money out. I may have to move out of state to find work, if I can find work at all; and that would pull John away from his school, and his aid, the only hint of success he has ever known. And good luck selling our house!
Meantime we have five police cases open. Three of them are crimes committed against my kids, and the other two are misunderstandings that are related to these crimes. In the interest of privacy, I will not go into details. It looks like they are all drawing to a close, thankfully, and one of the perpetrators is going to jail for a year, plus two years probation. That's something I guess. But it's really been a horrible 2008, and 2009 isn't looking much better. All this casts a dark shadow over the joy we should be feeling as our children grow and mature.