Money Has Made Me Meaner Inside

Dear Delyara, Not always outwardly. Inside. Quicker to resent. Quicker to panic. Quicker to hear cost before joy. Quicker to feel one ordinary request as one more pressure instead of one normal part of family life. I hate that. Because I know who I am without this constant financial tightness pressing on me. Softer. Lighter. More generous in feeling. More available. Less suspicious of ordinary life. Money strain changes the emotional meaning of everything. Dinner. Weekends. Shoes. School trips. Fruit. Fuel. A broken appliance. A social invitation. Nothing arrives alone anymore. Everything drags arithmetic behind it.