Appreciate the little things this holiday! By Rob Gutro

Our friend Cathy sent us a powerpoint presentation that made me reflect on my years as a teenager and what happiness really comes from. 
    The presentation was about former students of a college professor who went to visit him. The retired teacher served hot chocolate and everyone picked the fancy cups leaving the plain ones behind. The lesson was that life is the "hot chocolate" and the money and possessions, etc are just
the "cups" that surround life, but aren't what's the most important.
MY TEENAGE CONVERSATIONS WITH MOM  -
   I make me think of when I was teenager. I had several heated discussions with my mother that money and power were not the most important things in life.   My mother would tell me that her boys (me and my 2 brothers) needed to be millionaires and nothing less would do.

  I told my mother that the most important things to me were  how you treat others, love, respect and appreciation of the simple things.
    My mother never seemed happy. She wanted more stuff. She wanted a summer house (that she never got), she wanted jewelry, but she was never happy with what she had. My dad provided a good home (my mom hadn't worked since 1958) and always managed to put food on the table, working 2  jobs. I know that my mother grew up dirt poor, as my dad did, so she thought money could fix everything. It can't. Sure, money is helpful, but that's not happiness. Want to see happiness? Look at your dog - they are living unconditional love.
   I would argue with my mother and tell her that life isn't all about how much money you can make, it's about the quality of life and you make and find your own happiness. Believe it or not at 18, I learned that from listening to Dolly Parton who showed me how to appreciate the simple things in life and appreciate the little things.
  So, appreciate the little things this holiday and always and you'll be a much happier person.  - Rob