The 13 Best Things About the Recession of 2009

Who said that this recession is all bad?  Not me!  There's an upside to the effects of the recession that we've been experiencing of late and, as a casualty of that recession, here's my personal take on a few of them:

1. After 35 years, I get a break from working a 40-50 hour/week job. Not a permanent break, mind you, but a much-appreciated temporary break.
2. My wife has an excellent new housekeeper (me) who already knows where everything is in the house because I've lived in this house with her for the past 25 years (and I work cheap!)
3. I don't have a 64 mile round-trip daily commute to get to work. The distance to work is the distance from the bed to the floor, roughly 25 inches.
4. I get to enjoy the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas, something that's tough to do when you work in retail. Usually by December 25th, I'm Scrooge incarnate . . . Bah Humbug!
5. My wife has discovered that "twice as much husband and half as much money" is not as bad as it sounds.
6. I learn how much less money is required to work from home. Less eating out, fewer new clothes, fill-up the truck with gas about once/month, etc. 
7. I have more time to write. The pay is nothing to write home about (pardon the pun) but it's a dream job in every other respect.  This particular blog post is part of a group writing project that I discovered at Daily Blog Tips because I have the extra time to read and write. 
8. I have more flexibility with travel.  Want to go visit one of my kids in the middle of the week?  Let me check my schedule  . . . No problem!
9. I've learned to live on less money and am a much better shopper now. Instead of trying to get in and get out ASAP, I can take my time and actually compare prices to establish the best value.
10. My dogs love having me home.  Lizzie and Rags are finally getting all the attention that they always knew that they deserved.
11. The list of delayed maintenance projects around my house is getting shorter.  I'm still not Mr. Fix-It but now I have time to figure out how to do a few more things. 
12. I have more time to attend to the needs of an elderly parent.  I still set healthy boundaries with her but I have more latitude in what I can do and when I can do it.
13. And finally, I'm reminded by all of this that I'm blessed beyond measure and God is still in control!

What are the upsides of the recession for you?