Just switched from Reddit FYI
Until I went off to college in the city, I lived in a pretty dangerous hood in Baltimore with my single mom who had multiple jobs as a waitress, and a stripper at night (also provided escort services to some of her customers, and I slept in the bathtub when she did :/ ). When I was around 15, I cleaned windows & did yard work for a lot of my mom’s customers/clients to help with expenses. I could tell my mom hated her jobs, but she did what she had to, to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. We stayed in a tiny one bedroom apartment, and my mom would come home at 3-4 am every night. Dad went to prison when I was young for assault, and I grew up around a lot of violence/drugs in general. Now I make okay money and I’ve brought my mom to the safer side of the city, but honestly I wouldn’t be where I am now without her hard work.
If you could go back in time to visit your mom in her most difficult moment raising you, what would you say to her?
Given the situation I think she did best she could but I definitely would have told her to prioritize herself sometimes. She was constantly working to provide for me and she never really took time for herself to relax.