Yesterday, I swung by a 24-hour diner after my late shift at work. I saw a waitress in her 50s sitting in a booth with a teenage boy. He had a notebook open, and she was helping him tackle some algebra problems.

When she got up to refill my coffee, I asked, "Tutoring after hours?"

She smiled, looking a bit tired. "That's my son. I can’t afford a tutor, so we study here between my shifts."

The boy looked up and said, "She's the smartest mom in the world."

It turns out she juggles two jobs but always makes time to sit with him every night and help him with his homework. "He's going to college," she said with determination. "Whatever it takes."

It’s amazing what love can do, even when life gets tough.