Day 308, November 4

Do you ever wonder where all the money went? Do you have months when there is more month left than money? If so, you're not alone. The last few years have brought new challenges to many families.

Making do on less is new to some of us. When I think of my parents and the near poverty of their early lives, I marvel. I don't believe they thought of their childhood as deprived.

My father was a self-admitted farm boy who considered his mother's homemade bread dipped in milk from the family cow a fine meal. Even when he could afford much more sophisticated foods, he turned to those simple foods of his childhood. Warm bread. Jam. Milk.

My mother grew up in Appalachia, in the rolling hills of eastern Tennessee. There were no store-bought clothes for her and her brother and two sisters. But there were quilting parties with her mother's friends. There were trips to church revivals. There were bottles of homemade jam and sweet pickles.

No, they never thought of themselves as deprived. They counted the blessings of family and friends and faith and considered themselves fortunate.

So, for today, I am grateful for the example of my parents.