"House Money”
In most houses (mine included) if a child finds a nickel or dime, it is theirs to keep. This “surprising wealth” and the promised trip to the candy store are part of what makes many childhoods filled with wonder. It does not take much to make a child’s eyes go wide! In my house, however, any money found was called “house money.” Because it was found in the house, it belonged to my parents. That was that. I asked my mom once if I could earn extra money doing chores. I was very eager to do some. “But you should be helping anyways,” she said flatly. “Yes, but extra chores!” At six, I really wanted to make my bed (none of us did that) and get paid a nickel. “We really can’t afford that,” said mom. Her answer was final. There were absolutely no jobs in the house for which I could be paid, even a nickel. In part because they were so desperately poor that they could not (perhaps if dad restrained himself from spending a small fortune on shrimp, crab, and specialty cheese...