"Are you more negative or positive?"

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I saw a guy on a television morning show recently talking about how to save money around your home so you can buy more presents. Some of his suggestions were pretty good, but one was…well, you tell me. He said to take your toilet paper roll, squash it, and then hang it. That would make it more difficult for your family members to pull paper off. They would use less. You save money. Talk about dwelling on the negative…I can just see me doing this with my wife and two daughters.

I thought more about his suggestion and focused on something positive. When our older daughter was small, we saved the cardboard roll for her from toilet paper and paper towels. She called them “dooters” and put them up to her mouth, making a “dooting” noise like a kazoo and marching around our home. Then I showed her how to decorate them with crayons and pipe cleaners and Styrofoam balls, making little puppets which we used to put on shows.

So which sounds like more fun, more of a gift to you—the negative or the positive? Be positive and give the gift of your creativity as you make a life.

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