We all have our disappointments in life.  They can range from the inconsequential (the store is out of the brand of laundry soap that I have a coupon for) to the significant (a diagnosis of cancer or another serious illness).  And we all deal with disappointments in different ways.  Young children are very good at "catastrophizing" a disappointment.  Mom's refusal to get that wanted candy bar in the grocery checkout line can lead to a tantrum.  But as any mother knows, not giving in to a child's tantrum is teaching a lesson on how to deal with the inevitable disappointments that are part of each person's life.

Self-discovery is part of every person's life. To a greater or lesser extent, individuals learn about themselves as they go through various stages of maturing. Adolescence is an early period of self-understanding, when teenagers begin individualizing themselves, sometimes rebelling against parental values, sometimes integrating them into their own lives. College years and young adulthood are another period when men and women begin to uncover more about their own place in the world. A traumatic experience in middle age-job loss, divorce, serious illness-may also provoke a time of self reflection, during which a person may question what the meaning of his or her own life is.

In the very difficult economic times of the last few years, many families found themselves relying on resources that they had never had to utilize in the past. Some households used their retirement savings or tried to sell their homes after a job loss. Others found themselves grateful for unemployment compensation even if it didn't pay all their bills. Some adult children found it necessary to move back in with their parents, while some families found help from a local food pantry or meal program maybe one to which in better times they actually made donations.