I can’t say that my life has been hard….like any child I wanted everything, but truly had all I needed and more.  My home was always filled with friends who begged to stay as long as they could.  I was that kid living in the “cool” house and rarely was there a dinner that I didn’t have a friend sitting beside me at our table.   Camping trips, picnics or long days of playing only to come home and fall into bed with a smile on my face.  So I must admit…I had it easy.   I was rich.

I was the youngest of three daughters to a single mom living pay check to pay check with no one to lean on.   Yet, somehow overwhelming happiness flooded our home each and every day.   Instead of complaints of having to clean, we blasted the stereo and sang as we danced our way through our chores.   Family nights were spent together laughing while squeezing into a cozy kitchen to cook…only to be followed by playing games, telling stories and even watching a little “Wheel of Fortune.”

Although I was surrounded by family, which included my father, that seemed to have a money tree, we didn’t need one.  In fact, my mom didn’t want one.  Watching greed destroy relationships, my mom totally “got it”.  Dining with superstars and turning down Mercedes and expensive gifts, my mom was determined to be her own woman.   In fact, she taught me how to see that some of the richest people around me were sadly the poorest people I knew. No amount of money could buy what filled our home.

Now all grown up and successful, I no longer live pay check to pay check, but the lessons remain with me today.   I am closer than ever to my mother and sisters. We are strong like the tallest of oak trees…one that many people could never wrap their arms around and I am grateful.  For when you strip away the money, all you have is each other and my core is solid…I am truly the richest person in the world!