Connect What is the most rewarding part of being a mom?

Seeing my kids happy and full of joy. I love their smiles and their laughs. I spent a lot of my childhood sad, unhappy, scared and rejected. I want to make sure they are loved, happy and safe. Even if it means staying up late as a single mom after an exhausting day doing school work, going to the science center, cleaning up playdough off the floor that wasn't supposed to be taken out, cleaning up muddy clothes because someone was too excited to jump in the puddle and reading dinosaur stories.

What is the biggest lesson motherhood has taught you?

Patience and that the life you want takes a lot of enduring. I spent 40 years unhappy and trying to get things right, like the Israelites wanting to be in the Promised Land. I want to make sure my children have the childhood I didn't have. Signing them up for the activities they want to be in -- like scouting, gymnastics for my toddler tumbler and swimming so they can be little fish like Nemo. Letting them have the electric cars and the puppy I didn't have if I win. Time to break the cycle.

What would you do with $20,000?

Pay off bills and have fun! Relax on a vacation with my kids after a lot of trauma and an evil family court that is completely pitted against the single mom who was emotionally abused, go to our favorite restaurants, some sports games and amusement parks. Day trips to the beach in Erie, making sandcastles,having picnics and using the skills they learned in swim classes. Help pay for private school.