I never thought of what it took to face the same day she had faced yesterday and would face again tomorrow, never thought of the long, tedious hours on her feet, waiting on others, putting everyone else’s demands before her own, with no encouragement from another soul to keep her going—just herself and her obligation to my sister and me. What a triumph of commitment, of love. Yet I’d never thought once about it. And I didn’t think about it in that moment, either, as we sat in the kitchen together.
