Say hi to my mom, Barb. My mother is currently entrenched in the wonderfullness that is
called being a grandparent. I'm sure it's much more enjoyable than raising two boys.
Especially her two boys. =)

My parents worked opposite shifts in order to keep us out of daycare. Mom being
a nurse in a nursing home, got stuck with nights, being that there aren't too many
third shift mechanics jobs that dad could find. Whether it was to avoid the added costs,
or to avoid having a stranger raise her boys, it was a sacrifice.

She would come home a little after 7am from her shift, get us ready for school,
and then head to bed. I know summers were rough on her since we were there making
noise all morning. Her afternoons usually consisted of laundry, cleaning house,
and getting something ready for dinner. Somehow she found time to keep up with
her soap opera in between helping us with our homework if we had it.

I worked third shift for a year when I was younger, and let me tell you, it ain't easy.
And I didn't have children to deal with.

My brother and I both got into our fair share of trouble growing up, but I'm sure he learned
from at least some of my mistakes, so I hope the years got a little easier for her as we grew up.

So here's to you mom, for all your sacrifices along the way.
I hope they never went unnoticed.

Happy Mothers Day to you, and to all the mothers out there.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Lighting info: One sunpak strobe fired into a 45" white satin umbrella, fired by sync cable at camera left.
Mom is seated at their dining table with a north facing window directly to camera right to act as fill.
There's about a stop difference between the main and fill light.