The new American dream

It's been a year since we started this modification process. We have tried very hard to play by their rules. Maybe we bit off too much when we bought this house, but who could have expected two floods (both declared disasters by FEMA) in an area that never flooded before? Who could foresee that the economy would tank so completely that millions found themselves out of work?

So we realized that this was nothing to be embarrassed about. We have always paid our bills. We have lived up to our obligations. We weren't trying to defraud anyone. We consider ourselves decent people.

And we have found that nearly everyone we tell about our situation knows someone else in the same boat. It's the new American dream! Work for 40 years and end up with nothing! No job, no house, no prospects!

But really, we are in much better shape than one would expect. My partner and I remain completely dedicated to each other (we each think the other is nuts for sticking around), our son is prospering (except for that nasty 12-year-old boy stuff), and we have four, count 'em four, 6-month-old kittens. But they're another story. And yes, we do expect someone to rent to us when the time comes, even though we have a dog and three birds in addition to the cats.

We are still optimists.