“I have four children, and I pushed education with them right from the beginning. We read together every day; I think I can recite every Dr. Seuss book by heart! [*laughs] I knew I wanted them in Catholic school, so I got a job in the school kitchen, cleaned houses, and worked in retail to pay for it. We were able to get a MOST Scholarship too, and that helped tremendously. When you’re a single mom (my husband and I separated when the children were small), you learn how to stretch a dollar. As each of the kids started kindergarten, I sat them down and told them: ‘I expect you to work hard and do the best you can. You’re going to school every day, and you’re going to do well. You’re going to be obedient, you’re going to follow directions, and you’re going to do what’s right.’ I also taught them that if they started something, they were going to finish it. A lot of people start something and then quit because everything’s not exactly right, but nothing is ever going to be perfect in this world. You start something, you finish it.
“I had to manage my time well to work all three jobs, and the kids learned early to manage theirs too. They played sports and had chores around the house, but they knew their schoolwork came first, so they had to be organized. They also learned how to budget their money. My son is a senior in college now and plans to go to law school. He doesn’t have a car, but he goes to work every day and will graduate in May with no loans to pay back. My twin girls are in their second year of college. They share an apartment three miles from campus and ride their bikes to class. I help with their utilities, but they both work and earn the money for rent. My youngest graduates from high school this year. All three of my girls want to go into the medical field, so I probably won’t be finished helping them for another ten years. But the time will come!
“We couldn’t do any of this without God. Faith has gotten us through. I pray all the time. When my girls tell me their assignments are hard, I tell them: ‘Go talk to Jesus.’ Even here at the school where I work now [Memphis Catholic], the kids sometimes come up and say, ‘Ms. Miller---!’ and it seems like the world’s about to end. I tell them, ‘You go talk with Jesus. Jesus is your best friend. He’ll be with you wherever you are. If you’ve got a friend who’s going to be with you wherever you are, you need to hold on to that friend. Mama might not be there. Sister, aunt, somebody else might not be there, but if Jesus is there, you’re all right.’”
“I had to manage my time well to work all three jobs, and the kids learned early to manage theirs too. They played sports and had chores around the house, but they knew their schoolwork came first, so they had to be organized. They also learned how to budget their money. My son is a senior in college now and plans to go to law school. He doesn’t have a car, but he goes to work every day and will graduate in May with no loans to pay back. My twin girls are in their second year of college. They share an apartment three miles from campus and ride their bikes to class. I help with their utilities, but they both work and earn the money for rent. My youngest graduates from high school this year. All three of my girls want to go into the medical field, so I probably won’t be finished helping them for another ten years. But the time will come!
“We couldn’t do any of this without God. Faith has gotten us through. I pray all the time. When my girls tell me their assignments are hard, I tell them: ‘Go talk to Jesus.’ Even here at the school where I work now [Memphis Catholic], the kids sometimes come up and say, ‘Ms. Miller---!’ and it seems like the world’s about to end. I tell them, ‘You go talk with Jesus. Jesus is your best friend. He’ll be with you wherever you are. If you’ve got a friend who’s going to be with you wherever you are, you need to hold on to that friend. Mama might not be there. Sister, aunt, somebody else might not be there, but if Jesus is there, you’re all right.’”
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