A little bit about me

I lost my job two years ago and have not been able to find any serious employment since then. I had a six figure income and like so many people my age in this economy, I was unable to replace it. I had a job at Wal-Mart for minimum wage and upgraded all the way to $9.00 per hour for a seasonal job at the Home Depot.

I was on unemployment for two years. Fortunately, my wife's income covers the basics.

We were able to renegotiate our mortgage as well. This was probably the most important financial event that happened to me for quite awhile. It was very depressing contemplating giving up our home.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to receive a nice piece of cash through a negotiated settlement. As part of the agreement I will say no more about this issue.

So I went from unemployed to retired at a relatively young age.

I am married to the lovely Diane. We have been together for 27 years. The stability of the family we have is what kept me together during these rough times.

We have 6 very wonderful adult children. We have 5 daughters and 1 son. Their ages range from 36 to 22. No, the son is not the youngest and we are not Catholic. So far the children have produced 8 beautiful grandchildren. Keeping with the trend, 7 of them are granddaughters. Daughter number three is pregnant, so around the middle of October number 9 will arrive.

I am very proud of my family. Of the six 5 have college degrees and the youngest is about a year from graduation. They have accumulated 2 Masters with 2 more working on their Masters programs. Another is working on her second degree in the medical field. All are gainfully employed.

My oldest granddaughter is an exceptional student and graduates from high school this year. She will be attending Wayne State next fall. I am very proud of her.

I am sure I will be mentioning my family often. That is one thing nice about a blog. You get to write about what is most important to you. In my case that is my family.

I have an extended family that I love dearly as well.