Recession, you've gone too far.

perhaps i've been callous. perhaps i've been immune.

i've learned to deal with 'fuel surcharges' and 'contingency plans' at work like forced pto and not getting a raise this year. i've seen close friends lose their jobs. i've had people apply to work for me who are well overqualified to do the job they are asking to do - just to make ends meet.

but now, finally, the reality of the recession has hit me:

MOTHERS COOKIES
Oakland, Calif.
Founded: 1916
Closed: October 2008

For more than 90 years, kids in California enjoyed creating parades of Circus Animal Cookies baked by Mother's Cookies, an iconic grocery-store snack brand headquartered in Oakland. But this generation will be the last to munch on the bright-pink frosted animals: Mother's Cookies crumbled on Oct. 6, when the owners abruptly shut down and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

They blamed a variety of economic factors, including the rising costs of fuel, flour, butter and sugar. "It's a tough market in which to find credit," said Barrett Golden, spokeswoman for Catterton Partners, the private equity firm that bought Mother's Cookies a few years ago.