Recession Recovery: Scars Run Deep

When I was a child I would visit grandma and grandpa in their apartment, on Brighton Beach. I remember that was amazed at how much food was stuffed into their fridge and cupboards. When I returned home I asked my mom "Why do grandma and grandpa have so many graham crackers? My mother said because when Grandpa was little he lived through the great Depression. There were ten kids in his family. He's afraid of starving again." Now I'm here, having survived the great recession. I am unable to purchase anything that isn't essential (edible), and unable to turn on the heat. I wear a fleece hat, long underwear and 4 layers of clothes: shirts, undershirts, fleece sweat shirts, and two regular sweat shirts, and a scarf INDOORS. I'm okay with it. I do get self conscious when I have a visitor. I explain that I dress for the cold house as if I live in outer Mongolia.