A reporter asked us yesterday how families could actually slow down and enjoy family life when maybe the slowing down isn’t their own choice. What if they lost their job and that’s why they couldn’t sign their kid up for dance class? Or what if they are just wrought with worry about the economy and that is the overriding thought that occupies their mind and their time?

The fact of the matter is, whether we have enough money or not, whether we have a job or not, whether we are worried about finances or the future or the now, family life isn’t going to go away. We are still and always going to be in it.  And we have to find ways to function in whatever circumstances we’re in. Though it’s not always easy to put the worry aside, I really believe that in the face of all that fear, lies an opportunity to slow down, connect and find even more ways to enjoy the family life we’re in.

For many families, this slower way is a new way of being together. The financial crisis is giving many of us a lot more time at home as we outsource less for entertainment and activities. For many, suddenly we are at home, all together, with a lot more downtime on our hands.

We can view it as a curse, and spiral with worry about how we don’t have what we used to have. Or we can view it as an opportunity and get creative with how we actually spend the extra time we do have together as a family. The big vacation may be a series of day trips. The weekend plans may be a picnic in a local park or in our own backyard. The summer camp may instead be a week of camp like activities at home. The weekly movie that may once have been in a theater, can be a family night at home and may even end up being a night of family storytelling or singing instead.

It is here. And we are in it. We can obsess about what we don’t have or we can pause and recognize that what we do have is now. With our families. How we choose to view it and deal with it and live it is ours to decide.

If you’re feeling stumped on how to get started, you can download our Slow Family Living workbook that includes a list of 60 things you can do with your family that don’t cost a dime.