At least we got a car' C assie, Josh and Kevin Sipe rocket through the front door eager to show their father the products of the school day. Josh, a pragmatic 11, bears a hand-crafted clay pot. But experience has given the Sipe children a precocious awareness of how money shapes childhood.
Cassie is keenly conscious of friends who have more.
Josh is equally aware of those with less. When they spent a month at the homeless shelter at Lowry Square in downtown St. Paul, for example, they counted themselves among the richest residents. Unlike other children, they had toys and extra clothes. Thanks to their father's careful shopping at thrift stores and clearance sales, they dress pretty much like everyone else at school. She, too, identifies poor kids by their clothes.