Only my mother showed love. My father took off when I was 5. Mother was a homemaker so we were left with no income. She immediately went out and got a job and whenever the opportunity arose, she got a better job. Eventually she became a buyer for a major market chain. She worked her butt off.

When finances got better she bought a home in the “right” neighborhood so my sister and I could go to good schools. She also made sure we went on to college. She wasn't a huggy type, but she made sure we knew we were loved in many other ways. Mostly, though, it was her sacrifices that spoke the loudest