Early Mother's Day Note

My mom is not Ingrid Bergman, but photos that I've seen of my mom when she was younger have always reminded me of her. Seriously. I noted some of the differences on the photo above. Since all of the photos that I have of my mom are packed away, I figured that I could use that stock photo as a launching-off point. Actually, I should be more truthful: I do have 2 photos but they are of my mom after she had undergone chemotherapy and I think she'd kill me if I posted those.
My mom, Sandra, is an amazing woman and I owe much to her. Her life has not been an easy one, but she has managed and has always seemed to do the right thing. My ethics and empathy come from her, as well as an inquisitiveness that never seems to get dampened. When my parents were divorced (I was 5), my mom raised all of us by herself. I am the youngest of 6. Dispensing with the obvious: yes, it was really hard on her.
She had not finished college and had been a housewife during the marriage. A neighbor friend of ours had gotten a job in a local construction company (they built and installed cabinets, from what I remember) and managed to get my mom a job there. After a few years of this, my mom managed to get a job driving heavy equipment for another construction company. For years, she woke up before sunrise, worked all day and then would come home after dark. I seldom saw her when she wasn't exhausted. I remember her talking about different projects that the construction company worked on, especially building a new terminal at the Nashville Airport. It was at a time when the automatic-flush sensors were just beginning to be used. I remember my mom's amazement with those things. I think about those automatic flushers every single time that I fly into or out of Nashville.
(Skip ahead many years...)

My mom just passed her 100-day mark after a bone marrow transplant. It is exquisitely good news and worthy of a special mention.