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My mother’s a saint, and other things you should know.

My mother is eternally positive. I’m not exaggerating. Her life experiences are riddled with examples, but I’ll use a more recent one to illustrate my point:

My mom’s the alternative education teacher at a small-town high school. She’s the only alt-ed teacher at the school, so she gets the kids who have kids, the kids whose parents suck, the kids the system has failed, et cetera. She has a passion for her job, and she loves her students—my foster brother Jacob came into our lives through her classroom. Yet she can’t afford health insurance through the school—and it’s a public school. She is a state employee whose paycheck cannot cover health insurance for her or my siblings—much less rent, food, and bills.

She recently went out and got a second job, at the only grocery store in the small town where she works. For the first time since I was a baby, my mom is a cashier girl. When she told me that she was getting a second job to help pay the bills, I was sad. I may have to work three to four jobs every week just to make ends meet, but there’s something completely unjust to me about her having to do the same. She’s been there, done that; she’s worked so hard for so long, and I want that to be enough for her.

She didn’t feel the same way. After her first shift (which followed the full school day), she sent me this text message: “Just finished my first day at the grocery store! I love it here—there are so many people to talk to!”

The idea of karma is, at this point, drilled into my brain forever. On the one hand, it can feel like one of those bullshit tactics to get you to behave, not unlike the looming threat of Hell—though significantly less fire-and-brimstone-y. But on the other hand, it’s not confined to theology—the idea that you reap what you sow is not culturally/religiously singular, and it can still function within a secular world.

When I was very young, my mom told me that in order to lead a happy life, we have to continuously put out positive energy, positive thoughts, and in the end, that goodness would make its way back to you, like a boomerang. She went on to say that while bad things happen to good people (and many bad things had happened to her), it’s her prerogative to keep sending positive vibrations into the world, with full faith that something good will come to counteract the bad.

I believe it. Sometimes (in fact, often) I’m rather incredulous in regards to her endless well of optimism, but it doesn’t change the fact that I think she’s right. I remind myself of this every time it seems like “just keep swimming” just won’t cut it.

And she’s usually right. More often than not, there’s something good just around the corner.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. You’re my hero.