Mama can also be very resourceful and ingenious. When a nurse refuses to let Mama see her sick child in the hospital, Mama disguises herself as a janitor, mopping the floor so she can pass the nurses' station undetected. And when Mama doesn't have quite enough for an expensive surgeon to perform a crucial operation for her husband, Papa, Mama promises that she can make up the money difference by having a carpenter do some home improvement on the surgeon's house for free. That carpenter happens to be Papa, so the surgeon better do a good job!
Overall, perhaps, most striking and heartfelt are recollections of Mama's self-sacrifice. She continually avoids buying a fur coat to keep her warm because the money might be better spent on another member of the family. She sells her mother's treasured heirloom in order to buy a graduation present for her daughter. And she dares to go flying in an airplane, just to see if it is safe for Papa to go flying.