This coy and ironic photo of my mother, snapped sometime in the 70’s, tells quite a tale and shows a side of my mom I have rarely seen.

She grew up a strong, hardworking midwesterner who married young and took care of everyone else while often overlooking herself (still is/does). I guess that’s a mom for you! As a young girl, I took for granted the myriad ways she went above and beyond in providing for me. I admit that at times I still take her presence for granted.

In 2006, when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and went on to have a double mastectomy, she teetered between her strong “I have everything under control” facade and one of uncertainty and vulnerability (as the picture illuminates).

While the photo is admittedly humorous and shows my mom at about the same age I am now, it speaks volume about life and impermenance, and the inner struggles that plague us all.

She is my rock.

—Submitted by jilliansuesz