I was getting divorced, becoming a grandmother, and becoming more and more responsible for my mother's health and wellbeing. I had just bought a house, semi-benefitting from the downturn by catching it as the cost was on its way down. By the time I sold it a couple of years ago, it had far more than recovered.
My two elder children also benefited from that part of the recession. They both bolted out of my house, got educated, married early, had kids early, and bought their houses before most people their age at a time when real estate prices and interest rates were low. That will have positive ramifications on their financial stability for the rest of their lives.
So for me, the upheaval of that time was mostly emotional.
