In my head, I heard my mother say, there a lot of things worse than death.

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Effort? (Laughter.) Some of you have had that conversation. (Laughter.) And it was pretty jolting hearing my mother say that.

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But, as my mother used to say, we cannot be expected to live in picturesque poverty.

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In contrast, my mother would never say boo to a goose.

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For himself, as my sainted mother used to say, he was smart.

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"I had time to put my hands on him and say, 'My dear, your mother is here with you, '" she said.

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My mother loves to ballroom dance, and one time she asked me what I would say if she quit her job to pursue ballroom dance as a career.

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Growing up I lived with my mother, my father, two older siblings and my grandparents, and I can truly say that I had the best experiences in life.

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And in my cache of childhood memories, I can honestly say the times my mom looked the most stressed or dejected was when her mother-in-law (my beloved Nanny) would come over and immediately begin picking up around the house.

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