Photo by ba1969

Yesterday the trash collectors mistakenly took two coolers and one folding card table from my driveway, thinking they were trash.

An honest mistake, I’m sure, but I can’t get over it. Do you know what those nice big hard plastic coolers cost these days? The way I see it, I’m out about $150 for all three items, which must be replaced because we use the coolers on a regular basis, and the table was borrowed from a neighbor.

I’ve obsessed over this unexpected expense for an entire day now, which is ridiculous. What’s gotten into me? I’ve always had a thrifty side, but these days it seems to be my only side.

Generally speaking, this Recession we’re riding out has brought about some good social change; many people have cut back not only on unnecessary spending but also unnecessary waste, and have relearned the true value of things. I’ve enjoyed sharing money-saving tips with other moms, bragging to my husband on how little I can spend on essentials, and feeling incredible pride when I haggle down a utility bill.

But as this economic downturn drags on, it’s starting to drag me down. I’m getting tired of the constant drive to spend less and save more. It’s not that I want to run out and buy a luxury car or a vacation home, but I want to stop thinking about money so much. Most of all, I want to put an end to the negative feelings that erupt when I feel I’ve wasted money -- letting the trash collectors take my perfectly good stuff, for example.

Of course, I’m not the only one feeling the psychological affects of the Recession. The Washington Post ran a front-page article last week  about local people with good incomes and secure jobs who are cutting back on spending anyway because everyone else is, which in turn may cause the Recession to go on even longer. This is a different problem than mine, considering I don’t feel particularly secure in my job as a professional journalist, but it illustrates the influence money has over people’s thoughts and actions these days.

Cookie Magazine's May issue includes a frank series of essays from four women struggling with money in one way or another (the article isn’t yet posted on Cookie’s Web site.) Whether these women are trapped in a debt-laden nightmare or are spending too much on their children’s education to afford simple repairs to their homes, they clearly have cash on the brain.

Luckily, someone is finding the funny side to all of this. One of my favorite mommy columnists, `Bad Mom’ Caron Guillo, says she’s finally hip in this new age of frugality. Read her recent blog post  for some comic relief.

My heart goes out to those who have lost their jobs, homes, or general well-being thanks to these hard times. Let’s hope the Recession ends soon, and that we can emerge from this dark cloud with some good lessons learned about the value of a dollar, but stop letting  the dollar define us.

Do you Tweet? Follow me on Twitter here.