Figurative Sculpture: PUSHED AND PULLED

My old co-worker crosses my mind when I recall someone, who has been pushed and pulled by the circumstances.

A restraint order was finally placed on her ex. Her mother agreed to move in with her and help care for her children while she juggled 2 low-wage jobs. Telling me the news, she proudly showed me a photo of her 4-year-old son delivering, to an elderly neighbor, a plate of cookies he had made with his grandmother. His unusually thick eyeglasses were noticeable.

"You're amazing," I told her. As she was always cheerful at work, I did not know about her tough living situations. She did not seem to recognize what I was amazed at. I thought her life would continue to be hard, but she would manage to push it back - with her signature smile on the face.