France has been hit hard by the economic slump like everyone else, but for some reason the mood doesn’t feel as morose here as it does in the US. New York Times correspondent in Paris Elaine Sciolino explains why in an excellent article, In the Lap of Luxury, Paris Squirms. Perhaps, like the French, we can all look at this as not a time of making money, but as a time of re-establishing friendships and relationships with family members that may have fallen by the wayside during our usually hectic lives. What a great opportunity to find out what we really value in our lives — the people we love, not the stuff we have (or had). 🙂