This is one of my favorite photographs – Mother and me dancing at my brother’s wedding.

My mother was a tremendous enfluence on me as a single parent. Our birth father left us when I was eleven, and my sister and brother were three and one years old. Mother joined the Elwood Police Department where she still works. Throughout those years as a single parent she did everything within her power to make certain we each had a solid foundation, self-respect, self-confidence and a determination to succeed in life. Today, thanks to our Mother (and her parents), we are all teachers, parents, and involved in our communities, churches and volunteer organizations.

And, I still share the words with my sons, which Mother repeatedly shared with us: ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST!