Tell me how it turns out

I have developed a bad habit the past few months. Daytime television.
Let me explain.
When I first decided to stay home with my kids, I promised myself I would never get sucked into the soap operas that were the staple of great aunt Hazel (who loved General Hospital). I knew the risks. One particularly harsh Iowa winter, I was drawn into GH, along with Dark Shadows during extended Christmas/snow vacation.
Therefore, I know how easy it is go get obsessed. Daytime TV would be a huge time waster. Also, I didn't want to become the caricature of a stay-at-home mom.

So it is with regret that I admit to tuning in more and more to a daytime drama that has me completely enthralled.
At first, it was just out of curiosity. I caught something that held my interest, then let it go. But the impression never really left my mind. Soon, I would furtively turn on the set (on mute, lest my work-at-home husband hear). Just to check in, I promised myself.
Of course, the plot lines didn't make any sense. But gradually, a few key characters and their personalities began to emerge. The Libor, the S&P, Precious Metals.
And of course, that family's malicious matriarch. The DOW.
Every day now. I don't even bother to hide my addiction anymore. I brazenly march right over to the remote after lunch, my husband right in the room.
Today--and I hope I'm not spoiling this for anyone--the DOW was down around 170 points when I checked, and the talk was of a close at an 11-year low. People were worried about nationalization of the banks. And in one of the subplots, former Fed. Chairman Paul Volker said capitalism should survive "in most respects."
Yikes! "In most respects?"
Apparently we are to believe capitalism itself is in doubt if the government takes this step and the result will be cataclysm on the market. Part of me says, Watch out Washington. You are politicians. Best listen to the experts on this one.
And then the other part thinks, "I bet the residents of Dodge City were upset, too, when the new sheriff came to town. Don't be a sap."
Mental health experts say my obsession with the stock market is "rumination" and that is a bad thing if you're trying to be an optimist. But I also feel like I need to know this stuff to protect my family. I don't want to be a sap.
One thing I know. The smiling isn't working. And all those people smiling and clapping on their balcony at the NYSE at closing bell--what's that about?

One piece of good news: The Justice Department is going after Swiss company UBS to get names of thousands of rich Americans who may have evaded taxes by using off-shore accounts. Now that makes me smile.