Knock Knock!

Me, as I'm giving Kawena a head/neck massage to ease a headache:  "You're spoiled."
Kawena:  "Mom, only rich kids are spoiled."
Me:  "Kawena, being spoiled means you don't truly appreciate what you have, regardless of how much or how little."
Kawena:  "Oh.  Okay.  That still means I'm not spoiled."

:)  Happiness is...having children who appreciate.  Not just things, but life. 

And you know, they've taught me this?  As a young Mother, I was in the very bad habit of appeasing my tearful child (over a lost or broken item) by telling them: not to worry, Mommy will get you a new one.  That changed one day when my little one, before I could even get a word out, beat me to it by saying, "Is ok mama, I gonna get new one, yeah?"  Whoa!  Brakes on.  Talk about instilling a sense of entitlement and eliminating the incentive to take care of things.  So, here we are today.  Always learning to appreciate, and being thankful for lessons that truly help us understand the meaning. 

'ohia lehua, the flower of the Island of Hawai'i, commonly found near the volcano.