10:45pm Counting Sirens

Dear A,

The girl that I work with one-on-one for 45 minutes a day at my school is reading a book about a boy whose mother was a slave and she was raped by her master. She fled and left her son (the boy) at a farm when he was a baby in the hopes that he would have a better life than the one she could give him.

Later on in the story, we learn that the mother's master and a slave catcher are out looking for the boy because he is their rightful "property." The boy learns that he is being pursued and decides to flee. Before he leaves the farm where he grew up, he reflects on his life. He describes himself as "rich" and free.

As we were reading this part in the story, Taylor stopped me and said, "Wait. That's not true. He isn't rich. He lives on a poor farm." So I asked her if she thought someone could be rich in other ways besides money. We talked about being rich in friendship, family and happiness. We talked about the richness that comes with the relationships we have with people who are important to us, with having a purpose in life and working hard towards a goal. And after all of this, she looks at me, nods her head and says, "Oh. Well then I'm rich too."

I think sometimes it's easy to get caught up in how much money we want to make, the next new piece of technology we want to buy or some other status symbol we can acquire based on what we have in our savings account. I know that sometimes I get too focused on material things. I know I can be self-absorbed and I can forget to appreciate all the ways that I am rich.

I had a pretty bad day today, but this moment with Taylor was a glimmer of good. It forced me to get outside of my own head and problems and worries and think about that which I am so grateful to have.

I walked back from the subway today listing all the things I want to show you when you're here. And I couldn't help but think that when it comes to you, I feel like a millionaire.

Love, M