How To Be Rich

made me richI pass a group of short, brown apartment buildings every day on my way to work.

They’re grubby and old along one of the busiest morning streets.

At the beginning of the school year, I noticed a mom and her young daughter waiting for the school bus on a tiny patch of side lawn. They weren’t waiting like a lot of people might be – glancing at the time, impatient and cranky, or worse, a girl standing alone as her mom backed out of the driveway on the way to work.

They caught my eye because they seemed to really enjoy the time together, day after day. They talked and laughed, hugged and twirled.

I wondered, what was their story? Why did a 40 year-old mother wearing business clothes live in Grubby Brown-ville? And why didn’t it seem to matter, as she engaged in a morning laugh with her 6 year-old in front of all the people passing them, seeing their short apartment?

I wondered, what went wrong with their plans for life? Where did they dream of living?

Today, it rained. I don’t mean a gentle, morning sprinkle, I mean a rain where the sky opened up, where rain pummeled the pavement. They were there, beneath a pink and white umbrella, the mom with her arms wrapped around her daughter’s waist, chin on top of her head beneath the torrent.

The image of their family passed in slow motion.

It was an image that said, hold onto the people you love.

It said, hold onto them, even when it’s raining really really really hard.

It said: this is love.

This matters.

“To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven.” -Karen Sunde

Photo by cabbit
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{ 7 comments }

1 Tracy February 9, 2010 at 9:34 am

How beautiful! A lovely reminder that being rich isn’t about how much money we have, how nice our house or car is, or what kind of job we have – but how we love.

2 Melissa February 9, 2010 at 1:09 pm

@ Tracy – How we love… something to remember everyday, because sometimes our day to day interactions aren’t laced with enough love.

@ Jeffrey – I’m honored, thank you. You made me smile.

3 Jeffrey Tang February 9, 2010 at 10:20 am

Poetic. And beautiful. There are few pieces of writing that I save to read over and over again. I think this is one of them.

4 Deeg February 10, 2010 at 12:43 pm

This made me tear up. I still am :) Thanks for such a lovely article with so much compassion and truth….

5 Melissa February 10, 2010 at 8:55 pm

Thank you, that’s really touching.

6 Linda Wolf (Insanely Serene) February 15, 2010 at 4:29 pm

Melissa,

This is a beautiful story. I can see the mother and daughter and their home and the rain. Wow, love your writing. Just discovering your blog here. Look forward to enjoying more. Love your commitment to truth.

Linda

7 Melissa February 15, 2010 at 5:03 pm

@ Linda – Thank you for this heartfelt comment and thanks for stopping by.

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