The most reward part about being a mother is the compliments I receive on a consistent basis telling me how great my boys are. They let me know that both my husband, before his passing, and I really spent time with our kids shaping them into good people with morals and values. Both our boys are pretty mature for their ages and have also handled losing their father better than other children may have at their age. Those compliments assure me that I am still doing great things through them.

One memory of my kids that I will NEVER forget is how strong they were for me after their father passed. Losing myself wasn’t an option. My 10 year old made me breakfast one morning and they came in together and told me: “You gotta get up mom, we will get through this together.” I’ve been going full throttle ever since that day and I promise not to let them down!

What I would do with $20,000 is add to their 529 college accounts, I’d make some short and long term investments to make sure their futures are secured, and we’d move/upgrade to a place with a little more space for us to be comfortable, continue building our bond, making new memories, and adjusting to our new normal.