Mom spent the time that she was supposed to be a kid actully raising children her younger brother and younger sister. She was tough as nails and did not suffer fools at all. And the truth was she could not afford to. She spoke the truth bluntly directly and without much varnish. I am her son.
When I'm working I'm very purposeful and everything else gets out of focus. Something I've had to work on together with my wife is how to acknowledge each other in the midst of this and keep the relationship going.