What is "Rich"?

So I've been reading this book called "The Potentially Sane Mother's Guide to Raising Young Children" by Tamara A. Fackrell that my SIL, Erica, gave me when she was purging and I totally recommend it (and, apparently, it is 78% off on the Deseret Book site). In fact, I told Paul he has to read it when I'm done :)

Anyway, there's a chapter in there about teaching your children the value of work and money and budgeting, etc, and somewhere in there (sorry, the book is upstairs in Lydia's room, and she's sleeping, and I'm lazy) she talks about how you don't need to BE rich to FEEL rich, and says something to the effect of "what makes you feel rich?" and goes on to list a few things, the idea being to find simple luxuries in life that fit in your budget but make you happy. 

But, I thought that was a really weird question. As in, I read that bit several days ago, and the phrase "what makes you feel rich" is still sticking to me and rolling around in my head. What makes me feel rich? What does it mean to FEEL rich? Nothing against the author, because really and truly, I'm loving this book and am finding lots of valuable ideas for the next several years of parenting. But this one question, just... sticking.

Anyway, so when I read this question in the book, "What makes you feel 'rich'?", it really got me thinking. Admittedly, the word "rich" has some pretty negative connotations for me, so it's probably just me over-thinking stuff, but I don't think I need to feel "rich" to feel happy. And the more I thought about it, I realized that I HAVE so much, so many blessings in my life, that even though these things don't make me feel specifically "rich", I feel incredibly blessed.

My MIL has started posting something every day on her FB that she's grateful for. And then her niece started doing it, too. So I thought "why not?" and I've been posting every day something that I'm grateful for. And it's been really fun! I totally feel like Pollyanna now, but I'm finding myself constantly thinking of "what can I post next on FB that I'm grateful for?" As I was doing the dishes the other night, I thought "Man! I LOVE this huge, double sink in our kitchen! we didn't even HAVE a double sink in our old place! Doing dishes rocks now!" and... it just made me happy. So I posted it. And it's kind of funny to think back on. But really, it's those little things that make me feel "rich" in life. Especially if you think in terms of opposites: what makes me feel "poor"? Well, up here in Canada, being COLD makes me feel poor. Or feeling hungry and having nothing in the house to eat - that makes me feel REALLY poor. And kind of depressed. But I don't have those problems. So in the way of counting my blessings, these are a few of the things that I've been feeling really grateful for lately:

• I made zucchini bread last night. And I was grateful that, even though I don't do a ton of baking (something I'm working on changing!) at least I have the tools that I need when I DO want to bake! I have a working oven, I have the tools and the dishes, I even have the ingredients in my cupboards. Not everybody is so fortunate! 
• We had friends over for games last night. First, I'm grateful that we have friends :) That makes life a lot nicer! And, I'm grateful that we have games :) We've built quite a collection over the years as Christmas and Birthday gifts, and it's nice to have something fun to play together! 
• We can afford to pay our utilities. Meaning, we have heat. And hot water. And even lights to see at night with. Considering that Paul is still looking for a job, I think that that is a huge blessing, that our basic needs are still being met.
• I'm also thankful for our home. Every day, I'm thankful for our home. I'm sure I've said this lots already, but I'm grateful for all 3 floors of our home, for our huge, window-ful kitchen, our shiny new bathroom, and that our girls each get to have their own room. Considering some of the places that I've lived in my life, these are huge blessings! 
• I'm grateful for my hubby. I'm really lucky. He's really awesome. 
• I like his family, too. I like that we get to live so close to them. We're really lucky. And I really like that I LIKE my in-laws. Not everybody is so lucky :)
• I'm grateful that I get to stay at home with my babies. I'm grateful that this was important to Paul, and still important enough to him to follow through on. But I'm also grateful that I get to work from home, on my own schedule.
• I'm grateful for the phone :) Again with the basic utilities. But really, it's so nice to be able to talk to my relatives far away, or even to talk to friends here in Calgary on the phone. Oh, and having the internet. And facebook. Why google anymore? Just put a question up on facebook and lots of people will give you helpful answers :) 
• We're healthy. So easy to take for granted! Also, public health care. We didn't have to pay a small fortune for somebody to help us bring our babies into this world. And also, good deliveries, healthy babies. AND to top it all off, I'm able to breast-feed, no problems. It's like the credit card commercial that ends with "priceless". Cuz it's true! 
• One last basic need: I'm really grateful to live in a society that places value on Arts & Literature. Being able to listen to good music on the radio or being able to borrow books and cd's from the library is a huge blessing! 

Okay. And so now, I'm just rambling. But I think I've made my point. All of these little things that I've taken for granted in my life at different times aren't always blessings in other peoples' lives. It's the whole "there are starving children in Africa"! But really, life is comfortable, my children are happy and healthy, my husband loves me and loves his children, and life is just Good. I have a wealth of blessings. So really, I'm pretty freakin' "rich". :D