Being a mother isn’t a job you work 40 hours a week. It’s a 24/7 gig, and you have to be willing to give yourself over to it completely. As much as I loved my mom, Judy, growing up, I don’t think it was possible to fully appreciate her until I had kids of my own and witnessed my wife, Sara, and her sacrifices for our children. As an adult, I can see on a day-to-day basis all the small things Sara gives up for our family.

My wife basically runs a car service. We have three kids — they are 13, 5, and 4 years old — and Sara has to be a logistical tactician to get them to all the places they need to go. Our two little ones are in Jiu Jitsu, and our oldest is in band. Sara manages to get them all where they need to be, and if she has downtime while she’s waiting, she fills that time with online grocery shopping, finding a repair person of some type, or taking care of me in some way (yes — I can be a handful as well).

My mom was the same way. During high school, I would not get home from football practice until 6:30 at night. My mom worked full time, but that didn’t stop her from being there for me. I’d eat and take a shower, and afterward, my mom would stay up with me as late as necessary to help me do my homework and make sure I got it done. There were nights we were up until midnight together.

There were times when I’d sit with my calculus book open, feeling completely and totally overwhelmed and hopeless, but my mom was there to reframe things for me. She’d say, “Okay. We have a book, and we have some examples, and we can figure this out together.” Eventually, what we figured out together was that I needed a tutor, but she was always there to support me every step of the way…