Are We Rich?

By: Lisa Nee

“Mom are we rich?” the six year old asked during a recent car ride, a trip long enough that I’ll have to answer or be badgered into insanity. Considering the last bank statement, it should be an easy question to answer. But I am stumped. As a child, I don’t recall ever wondering about this condition. We could afford shoes but we never wore them. The same t-shirt for a week and barefoot in the creek, we wanted for nothing.

Dad was a talented politician who was often courted by Washington. Still, no matter what the offer, he stayed put as the mayor of our home town for 30 years. There was a gentleman who came to the council meetings every so often to petition the council to make wheat the legal tender. You would some times see him at the five-and-dime trying to make his point by paying for his cherry coke in wheat. Maybe Washington wouldn’t give him the time of day but the folks from Fridley, Minnesota did.

Worth is arbitrary--this is something we all understood. Dad had a particular degree of tolerance not often seen. Yes, we all do our best not to judge people by the color of their skin or chosen faith. But how many of us can say we tolerate the loud, the chronically shy, the stubborn? Dad did. He died with every living member of his family at his bedside, an indisputably rich man.

A friend of mine queried “how long will my sons still want me to give them kisses?” That is a stock tip I would like to have. Beyond a doubt having the love and affection of our children for a lifetime would make any of us wealthy. But like the more tangible kind of wealth, creating it is not always an easy task. Unlike the stock market, parents will defiantly be found out if they cheat or lie to their children. They stand to lose it all and once the damage is done, there is no waiting for the market to rebound.

What is the value of a child running into your arms at the end of the day, the sound of your name being called in the middle of the night, the endless debate over “Who loves whom more?” When my older son says “When I grow up, I’m going to live right across the street from you!” I get dizzy from the possibility of such good fortune. My happy retirement will be based not on the size of the IRA but will my boys build a life that still includes mom and dad. Will they still debate “Who loves who more?” Like the stock market we will hit hard times when they won’t want to talk, or they struggle in school or even want to drop out. But my consumer confidence is stronger in them than any mutual fund. My closest advisor, Mom always said “With children you get out of them what you put in.” Where else do such dividends exist? So when my son asks more loudly this time “Mom are we rich?” I answer yes, we most defiantly are.” “Good” he replies. “Then can I have a ticked-out Nerf gun like Myles’?”