I knew money was tight, but I didn’t think it showed—not in a way my daughter, Marisol, would notice.
She is only nine.
She does not complain.
She understands that occasionally we endure.
However, children at school?
They observe everything.
She came home last week quieter than usual; her typical chatter was replaced with a forced smile.
I did not press—sometimes children have difficult days.
But then, as she was removing her shoes, I saw it.
The small tears along the sides, the peeling soles.
