Yea we sometimes forget what this hobby provides for us in the way of an escape keeping us out of trouble from doing other things that a lot of people may have been into prior to R/C. It is a none life threatening hobby that helps keep us away from the crap that so many other are consumed by.
I've said this before but it still holds true. My wife loves that this is my passion, because she knows exactly where I am, who I am with, what I am doing, and shes not worried about somebody sneaking into our lives trying to devide us. Yes how much I spend comes up from time to time, but we always end up finishing our conversation realizing that compared to things like boozing, or smoking, or gambling this is a much better habit to have. Then we thankfully get busy.