It's only money...

Maybe as members of the military community we do have to "prepare for the worst" as Secretary of Defense Panetta says in this recent article.

As a nation, we've faced harder times. And certainly war is much worse than belt tightening. There are more things in this life than budget cuts—and perhaps it's time to consider some of them. We still have a lot of resources and a lot to look forward to, even if things get worse before they get better.

For one thing, there's family. Sure, they cost us money—some may even owe us money. But they don't go away if Congress fails to pass a budget. Neither do our friends. Most of us will still enjoy birthday parties (if we're invited), giving the dog a bath (or at least enjoy how much better he smells afterward), taking the occasional nap (not at our desks), and meeting new people.

While I do hope our legislators "wake up and smell the coffee," I do sometimes think maybe we'd all be better off giving the flowers an occasional sniff?