My Aunt Stole the $3,765 I Spent a Year Saving to Take My Mom to the Ocean – She Thought She Could Get Away With It..

When waitressing wasn’t enough, I began writing essays for classmates who had money but no motivation. I charged $5 for book reports and $10 for history essays. I stayed up late researching topics I knew nothing about, working by lamplight so Mom wouldn’t wake.

My friends invited me to movies, parties, shopping trips—everything that sounded like a normal teenager’s life. I said no to all of it. “Come on, Vera,” my best friend Lindsay pleaded. “You never hang out anymore. What’s so important that you can’t spare one evening?” “I just have some things I need to save for,” I said, hating the secrecy.

Month after month, dollar by dollar, my shoebox grew heavier. I counted the money every night: $847, $1,203, $1,851, $2,394. Each milestone brought me closer to seeing Mom’s face glow when I surprised her with tickets to Seaview Bay.

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