Money has a strange way of shifting the dynamics of relationships, especially when those relationships are with the people closest to your heart. We like to believe that family is everything, that we’d sacrifice anything for the ones we love.
But when those sacrifices are taken for granted—when those you hold dearest use your support as an opportunity for personal gain—the wounds left behind aren’t just emotional. They’re deep, lingering, and hard to mend.
Growing up, my life was framed around a singular, unshakable belief: my mother would do anything for me, and I would do anything for her. We weren’t rich, but she made sure I never felt it. She worked two jobs—waitressing by day and cleaning offices by night. Our little apartment was modest, but it was filled with warmth and laughter.
My father left before I could even form a memory of him, so it was always just the two of us. She was my cheerleader, my disciplinarian, my teacher, and my protector. On birthdays, she scraped together enough to buy me small but meaningful gifts—a secondhand bicycle, art supplies, a well-loved book from the thrift store. Each one felt like treasure. She taught me how to budget, how to cook, how to defend myself emotionally and physically.
Her motto, repeated so often it became a mantra, was: “Family comes first. Always.”