My mother left my father before I was born and was a workaholic all of my childhood. I was a latchkey child; waking myself for school, getting myself ready, seeing myself off and arriving home in the evenings to be greeted by no one. When there was food I fed myself. I put myself to bed so I could be rested to raise myself yet another day. No fault of her own, my mother did the best she could with what she knew and had. She didn't know what welfare was because she came from a two-parent home of hard workers. Her resources were scarce and support nonexistent.
