“You need new clothes.”
No I don’t. The 20 year old begging nightly at the grocery store parking lot for himself and his sister NEEDS food.
“Your son deserves better than to breathe in dust.”
No he does not… or at least not more than any other kid who lives on the Rez.
“I want more for you.”
I don’t NEED more. I have enough.
“Your son shouldn’t have to see boarded up buildings on his daily walks.”
No. He should absolutely see poverty, lack of infrastructure, desolation. In showing him those, I will make clear to him the line between want and need. In showing him those, I can generate in him compassion, ingenuity, and a fierce devotion to the service of his brother. What greater deed could I accomplish as a mother?
But, my rebuttals to what the world screams at me fall on deaf ears. The priorities I hold as a consequence of living where I live and seeing what I see cannot be understood except by those who also live what I live.
I try to explain. But to do so patiently, gently, without making myself a self righteous martyr, and without inflicting guilt or shame on the student is a skill I have far from perfected. Lord, have mercy on me.
Enough For Me 