Because she seemed incapable of allowing herself to receive something without immediately finding a way to compensate for it.
That was when Denise told me something I hadn’t expected.
“Mia isn’t being banned.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“She isn’t being expelled.”
My shoulders relaxed slightly.
“Then why did you say she might not be allowed to return?”
“Because we need to address what she’s doing before next summer.”
I didn’t understand.
Denise continued.
“Mia believes that when someone gives her something, she owes them something in return.”
I looked toward my daughter again.
She wasn’t looking at either of us.
She was staring at her bracelet.
And suddenly, several things from the past few years began making sense.
The Debt Mia Thought She Owed
After Michael died, our household changed.
There was no dramatic moment when everything suddenly became difficult.
It was more gradual than that.
Bills became things I thought about constantly.
I started working extra hours.
I learned how to stretch groceries.
I postponed purchases.
I became careful about vacations, clothing, school expenses and almost everything else.
I tried to hide the financial stress from Mia.
But children notice more than adults realize.
She saw me checking bank balances.
She heard conversations about expenses.
She understood that money had become tighter.
And somewhere along the way, Mia developed an idea that broke my heart.
She began believing that anything expensive given to her created an obligation.
The camp fee was not, in her mind, simply something her mother had chosen to provide.
It was money.
Money that could have gone toward savings.
Money that could have gone toward her future.
Money that represented another sacrifice.
