At Brunch My Mother Called Me Useless Until I Canceled Twelve Thousand Dollars And Everything Changed

Her smile faltered. “You paid for Jeffrey’s MBA,” I continued.

“Eighty thousand.

You gave him twenty thousand for a down payment. You co-signed his car lease, paid for his wardrobe, gave him seed money for investments.

How much total would you say?”

“That’s different,” my father said. “Jeffrey has ambition.

We supported his potential.”

“And what did you give me?” I asked.

Silence. “For nursing school I asked for five thousand for certification fees,” I said. “You told me to budget better, to work more hours, to figure it out.”

“You did figure it out,” my mother said quickly.

“It built character.”

“So his potential deserves six figures,” I said, “and my character needed to be built through struggle.”

“You’re twisting this.”

“No,” I said.