Those who do not learn from their past...

I'll be the first to admit i've done financial no-no's. I've stolen from family, friends, and strangers. And i'm lucky i've escaped without a police record. At one point i stole enough that my mother wanted to put me in jail to teach me. Fortunatly the person that i stole from did not think jail would do me any good. That thought alone set me straight. I've been good- i dont even take the loose change i find in the dryer. Until today, i thought people were trusting me again. See, today is my baby-sister's 19th birthday. Her "boyfriend" (thru the internet; i wish her better tham i got) came from Florida to visit and meet the family. My mom wanted to make a special dinner for Cort, and i wanted to help. i asked mike if i could use his card, he said sure, but NO MORE than 40$ and the card doesn't leave my hands. The last time i went shopping with my mom was a disaster, and even though Mike got his money back, he was still weary. Gio, Cortney, my mom and I got in my mom's new car and headed to Sharon's to meet mike. This is the first time my family met his... bittersweet considering the rest of the night. After getting the card, the 4 of us headed to Walmart. Gio and Cort headed off in one direction, my mom and i in the other. I was mentally adding up the price, wondering how i would tell her no more than 40. She had already given me the money, so i was covered as far as mike was concerned. We re-met up with Gio and Cort, and they put there things up on the belt. The line next to us was empty, i thought i'd beat them by going thru. My mom had only put the hamburger in my basket, so i owed her some money back. Once i got thru, i went over to there line to tease them about being too slow. Gio offered to pay for there groceries. I was shocked- a man with manners? I hoped he knew how rare that is these days. We all walked to the car and loaded up the groceries; then headed home. This is where it gets...complicated. We got home and my brother came over to borrow money for a friend of his. Gio, Cort and I took the groceries into the house, Cort started on dinner, i played on my computer next to grandma. A few minutes later my mom came in and went right into her bedroom. My dad came out to help Cort and i asked him if my mom was okay? She seemed off, like she was crying. Jay had just moved out, maybe she missed him? Maybe he promised her something and was skimping? I was to find out it was much worse. I texted Shawn, to ask him what i was missing, the same time my dad came out to tell me i should leave. My mom wasn't in the mood for visitors. Shawn's text came back-- my mom was missing 40$ and i was the prime suspect. Hell, i am the only suspect. I felt my blood run cold, but i packed up my computer, gave my dad the 20$ that my mom had given me for mike, (I'll deal with him myself) and left. Happy Birthday, Cortney...