GREENSBORO-The principal of Greensboro West Elementary School Stephanie Richey is not just a great motivator of teachers and students alike, but also the mother of three busy boys at home. This story is a salute to all the working class mothers out there that not only juggle a job, but manage to keep order at home as well.

When asked what the word ‘mother’ means to her, Richey said to be a mother is the best feeling in the world. She also said it’s a tremendous reward, but also a very responsible reward. She said the connection between the child and a mother is as special a bond as there is on this planet.

“When I look into the eyes of my three boys, who are 11, seven and two years old, I know they love me and that love will never change,” Richey said.

She said it is hard to juggle being the principal of 500 children and then going home and leaving everything at work to by with and spend quality time with my three children. She also said there just never seems to be enough time for both, but she has a secret weapon-a support net.

“I’m blessed by a tremendously supportive husband and two grandmothers that live here locally and want to be a part of the boy’s lives,” Richey said.

She said it is very hard to find the time to be a mother and a principal. She also said her job isn’t like other jobs that allow people to leave everyday at five o’clock.

“We really have to work hard to make the time we share as a family special,” Richey said, “We took the boys to the mountains over the President’s Day break and during that trip I left all my worries at home and just thought about my family.”

She said since her boys are so spread out in terms of age that they spend four nights a week now going to baseball games, but that’s not all she is also the team mom and the cheering section during every game.

“I’m so jealous of Mrs. Clever,” Richey said, “I wish I could be home with warm cookies and milk for my boys when they came home from school, but those days of stay at home moms are long gone.”

She said it is really sad now days that both parents have to work just to survive. She also said she sometimes wishes she could just be a stay at home mom because she would love to be with the boys as much as she could.

“I have a old saying, ‘The more you make, the more you spend’ and this is true in today’s society,” Richey said.

She said the boys always make her Mother’s Day a very special occasion. She also said they make cards and posters for her.

“One of the most special cards I’ve ever gotten has one of the boy’s footprints as a flower pot and his handprints making the flower,” Richey said.

She said they are planning to have a cookout over the Mother’s Day Holiday and she is really looking forward to getting the homemade cards from her boys because she will always treasure them no matter what.