Thursday, May 6th, 2010 10:17:23

The Good Mother

In 1980, my mother tells me, she made the decision to divorce my father. She believed her decision was the right one for her and her girls.

Her mother, Mamoo, was supportive. She offered to clear her tenant out of her duplex in Columbus, Ga., so we could move in, but my mother declined.

We would be fine, she said, and we were. My mom, sister and I moved from outside Washington, D.C., to Carrollton, Ga. Mom got a job at a small business; my sister and I went on to graduate from high school and then college. I continued my education in graduate school; my sister became an entrepreneur — her form of graduate education.