I’m so glad we decided not to take that cruise over the holidays.  I came back from Beijing feeling a bit flush after 90 straight days of producing at the Olympics.  A Caribbean vacation sounded like a great way to spend winter break but my teenage son didn’t want to do anything that didn’t include his friends so we decided to celebrate at home.  As I look at the direction the economy is going I am grateful for his surly teenage attitude.  At the moment the money seems better in the bank.

So many people I know are uncertain about 2009.  The angst seems to transcend the color of their collar.  My housekeeper brings her unemployed construction worker son-in-law to help her clean.  He moved from Minnesota to Denver because there was no work.  A newcomer to Denver who I have coffee with tells me her fiancee is one of the 35,000 laid of workers at Bank of America.  My colleagues in television are being downsized.  Every day I read of more on the beach.  Even my friends in real estate and business development are seeing their deals collapse because no one is lending.  On a brighter note my banker called and asked if we want to refinance.  Maybe now that the Fed has lowered interest rates to nothing there will be some relief. 

A year ago I produced a story for NBC about a family facing foreclosure at Christmas and how there was nothing under the tree for the children.  Viewers responded to them with so much kindness.  I thought it couldn’t get worse than it was a year ago but here we are 12 months later and everyone is being touched.  As I count my blessings I worry for those falling through the cracks and the charities who work to help them.  And experts say things will get worse before they get better.  Scary times!

For more information on Vicky Collins visit http://teletrendstv.com