I went to a seminar about twenty-five years ago on mother/son relationships. Jewish mothers are the prototype of the suffering mother and their sons take on a moral obligation because of it, much of the Jewish cultural dynamic. Japanese mothers are Jewish mothers at the next level, since they take on all the suffering – but in stoic silence.

Your mother always showed a quiet dignity in the face of her challenges (which were major). Thus, the fine son with an unwavering moral compass.