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 Today was my mother's birthday, and I miss her so much. She had been a high school teacher back in the oldern days, when woman rarely went further than college--and even if there had been opportunities for her to sign up for a Master's degree, her parents just didn't have the money. It was only through scholarships and odd jobs that she had gotten through her degree as it was. 

That's all I can say. Every time I start writing about her, I get all messed up. Maybe she's telling me to close the book.