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My mom is going to be 93 this November, and for the longest time she has been a caregiver to foster children, my paternal grandmother after a stroke, my maternal grandmother after dementia, my father with Parkinsons and of course all of her children (4).
Her health is not so good and she rarely leaves her home, and she still lives alone, but my sisters and I go all the time to see her and make sure that she is alright and to help her with whatever. When I was a small child, we gave up our home to go and live with my dad’s mother who had a stroke and my grandmother who only spoke Italian was not very nice to my mom or any of us kids, but my mom still wanted to help her. My mom’s mother, at the age of 80 came to live with my mother and father because she could not live alone anymore and my mom did not want to see her in a nursing home. When my mom had a slight stroke or heart attack (can’t remember which) she had to put my grandmother in a nursing home, and shortly thereafter, my grandmother died. When my dad retired, he was diagnosed with Parkinson and mom helped him for over 30 years until she tried to roll him over in bed with her head, and fractured her back. We then had to put him in a nursing home and shortly thereafter he died. I think my mother is one of the most caring people that I know, and I only hope that I am following in her footsteps.
My mom was constantly refinishing old furniture. Not so much out of love of the activity, but from necessity. We were a poor family, a couple of us were placed in foster homes at times to help the others survive. My mother worked outside the home when she could but also took pride in her house. Her furnishings, from various charitable sources was old, but mom would find time to strip and re-paint things. Most everything in the house would eventually be graced with mom’s touch.

orlandosentinel.com

De’Jon Jackson hit the biggest shot in school history — a long jumper with 1.2 seconds left in overtime — and 13th-seeded San Diego beat No. 4 seed Connecticut 70-69 Friday in the first round of the NCAA’s West Regional.
“The thing I put on the board: Don’t let them get a sniff that we’re two equal teams,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “We allowed them to believe that it wasn’t going to be what everybody said it was going to be.”
Instead, UConn is heading home much earlier than expected. The Huskies (24-9) hadn’t lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament since 1979 and never during Calhoun’s 22 seasons.
San Diego, meanwhile, got its first tournament victory in four tries. The Toreros (22-13) advanced to play No. 12 Western Kentucky in the second round.
And if Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare play like they did against Connecticut, the small, Southern California school known mostly for its scenic ocean views could be in for an extended tournament stay.
Johnson had 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Pomare had 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting.
Together, they gave UConn all it could handle, especially after leading scorer A.J. Price left the game with a knee injury.
But both of San Diego’s stars fouled out in overtime.
Jackson picked up the slack. He drove right on Jerome Dyson, stopped a step inside the arc, then sank the biggest shot of his career.
The celebration had to wait, though.
UConn had one final chance, but Jackson intercepted the inbound pass. The Toreros rushed the court, mobbed their hero and then celebrated in front of a small group of fans who traveled cross-country to see them make history.
“This feeling right now, I can’t even explain it,” Jackson said. “It’s like the best feeling I’ve had in my life.”

sports.espn.go.com