What Makes You Rich?

Mom, are we rich? 

It’s the million dollar question that usually pops up as I drive the kids around town.  It usually pops up when we are passed by a limo, a really loud brand new mustang, or a huge truck decked out in an extra large lift. 

When you are a kid, you really don’t have much of any concept of wealth – so you might relate it to things. At least we did as kids. 

My kids do the same honestly – and I can’t get upset at them for that, they don’t know any better.

When we were kids, we had acres and acres of yard, a beautiful garden, a nice treehouse, and the ability to run to the neighbor’s house next door to drink milk from the bulk tank of the farm. We didn’t have all the luxuries my kids have now – SONIC Drive In down the street, Walmart and Fry’s, and several restaurants in a 3-mile radius.  

As kids, we thought we were poor – we didn’t have ATV’s like some kids did, nor did we get to go to a cabin every summer in Duluth like some of our other friends did. And we never got to go to McDonalds. 

The memories…  now that I look back we had some of the best times – even though we didn’t have much money to spend.

When we were younger we knew no different; but as we got older, we thought we knew it all. We would ask to go to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal if we were spending the day in the Twin Cities, and my parents would always respond with a sharp “NO”, and follow with “You can eat when you get home.”  It seemed SO unfair – so the pouting started all the way home. 

I remember thinking, on several occasions, “one day I’m going to be rich and I’m going to eat at McDonalds ANY time I want.”

Funny – right? But yes, I really thought that. We wanted to eat what we wanted, whenever we wanted, without having to worry about money.

Fast forward 30 years later… in a recent conversation with an old friend, who lives and works in Germany.   Through a random Facebook post, she realized we are huge advocates of Raw Milk, which led her to tell me: