$4.00 Gas- Seriously?

    On the way to work this morning I was forced to endure the undeniable misery of stopping at a gas station.  As I filled the tiny twelve gallon gas tank in my equally as tiny car, I couldn't help but wonder- as I am sure you all do every single day- how I was actually paying $3.95 for a gallon of gas.  After driving up to New England in mid April, I know that there are places with considerably higher prices and that some of you may be thinking "$3.95?!  What is she complaining about?!  I just paid (enter your gas price here) this morning!" and I am glad that it is you and not me, for sure! 
    But seriously?
    Four dollars for a gallon of gas is crazy no matter what side of the dollar sign you are on. 
    The last article I read put the cost of a barrel of crude oil at about $80 which, from what I understand is on the cheap side in the world of oil barrels.  The article also went on to say that the high prices we are seeing at the pumps are a result more of investor specultation and gas station competition than concern about shortages.  So, once again the rich get richer and the rest of us work our butts off just to make ends meet with higher costs and never big enough salaries.
    I have no designs on being wealthy.  Both my husband and I work as civil servants.  We knew that we would be middle class forever in our chosen careers but we have always been OK with that.  We both love our jobs, most of the time anyway, and neither of us can imagine doing anything else with our lives.  And, honestly, although neither of us make a ton of money we should live a decent life as a cop and a teacher.
   At least you would think so.
   Neither one of us has had a raise or even a meager cost of living adjustment since the housing bubble burst.  That's almost four years.
   And that would actually be OK if gas prices weren't $4.00 a gallon and milk was still $1.99 a gallon and the cost of my utilities would stop rising.  Like I said, we never planned to be rich.  But it would be really nice to be able to fix my old, decrepit roof without selling a kidney!
    Now, don't get me wrong, I am VERY happy to be employed.  What I am not happy about is having to work in the summer to make up the difference in my salary and our bills when that used to be the time I reserved just for my kids.  One of the reasons I left research and entered teaching was so that I could be with my children as much as possible as a working mother.
     Who do I thank for this? 
     The district I work for has done a phenomenal job handling budget cuts.  No one has ever been laid off although many former postions have gone unfilled.  Alot of districts can not say that.  It has been as tough on city budgets and state budgets as it has been on ours.
    There is no doubt that the great recession of the twenty first century has been a real kick in the pants to most of us.  We have definitely fallen on the social scale from middle class to middle class white trash and I can't even imagine a day when I can just go to the store and buy what I want to without a coupon and a sale flyer but at least we eat every day and have a roof over our heads, as crumbling as it might be.
   I am not at all pleased with the change in the finances of the country and I wonder how many zeros there actually are in $3 trillion dollars (the national debt currently) but I am not sure that the recession has been all bad for me.
   Surprisingly though, I can actually say that the recession has taught me a few things.  I might even venture to say that it has made me a better person.
   I am alot better at keeping track of my spending now.  I use coupons and gain a crazy sense of accomplishment when I buy $20 of goods for $5.  My life has slowed down some, I make time to stop and smell the proverbial roses alot more than I used to and we have learned as a family to make our own, free fun just spending time with each other.  We have learned to pool resources with others- my neighbor and I share and help each other out on almost a daily basis now- and from that relationship as well as others I have since cultivated I have accepted the fact that I can not do it all on my own all the time. 
   And I don't want to any more. 
   When my father passed away last summer, I took stock of my own life.  When I saw how quickly his time on this Earth ended, I knew that I had to really start focusing on what is important.  People are important.  Relationships are important.  Name brand shoes, fancy cars and big houses just aren't.  Those things are nice, yes, but in the end, when we are gone and all that remains is our legacy, will any of us be remembered because we had a BMW instead of a Focus or a master suite instead of a plain old bedroom?
    This may only be what I tell myself to feel better about my situation but that's OK because I believe myself.
    So, I want to take this opportunity to tell my family and my friends how much I value each and every one of you in my life.  I would not be who I am if not for your influence and together we will make it through $4.00 gas and anything else the economy tosses at us.