He didn’t look well yesterday and his throat was hoarse, but he made it to the gardens anyways for the Lunar Year celebration. Mother said it was because he wanted to see us. I said it could also be because he didn’t want to waste the money. Mother said he didn’t pay because he was a member. I told her that he was not a member and he had to pay thirty. Mother said thirty was not that much and he could have just not have come if it was just about the money. I said that not everyone can just throw money away like that and thirty was still a lot, especially if you are a hard working parent with kids. She said that she gave him a lot of money and that he is not poor so thirty was nothing. I said it doesn’t matter how much money you have, it is how you view money. She said I was not going to convince her, but I told her I was not trying to convince anyone and that was just my opinion. She stormed out in anger.

Not everyone has the privilege to see money like she sees it, where thirty is mere pennies. Thirty can feed a family for a week in some poor countries. And for someone who thinks thirty is not much, she makes us pay out of our own pockets to fill up her gas tank when we are the one doing her a favor by driving her here. She demands we pay for her time. She always does shady things like that, but not with the youngest and his family. The youngest is spoiled with attention and gifts, but the oldest one she takes for granted.