--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My father worked three jobs, my mother…" description: "\"My father worked three jobs, my mother worked two, seven days a week sometimes. And they wouldn't take welfare or social assistance, they were too prou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/bill-duke-10801_days_my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-wo_335718.jpg" --- # My father worked three jobs, my mother worked two, seven… ![“My father worked three jobs, my mother worked two, seven days a week sometimes. And they wouldn't take welfare or social assistance, they were too proud.” quote by Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/bill-duke-10801_days_my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-wo_335718.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/bill-duke-10801_days_my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-wo_335718.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/bill-duke-10801_days_my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-wo_335718.jpg) > “My father worked three jobs, my mother worked two, seven days a week sometimes. And they wouldn't take welfare or social assistance, they were too proud.” [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hardworking parents often sacrifice dignity by refusing aid, reflecting deep pride and resilience. **In simple terms:** Parents may reject help to stay proud. Key Takeaway Respect their pride while offering discreet support. Themes family pride hard work poverty dignity Mood empathetic concerned Type social practical When to use this quote - community outreach - financial counseling - employment assistance programs Key Concepts sociology economic hardship intergenerational values Questions to Reflect On - How can you help without undermining pride? - What resources respect their independence? A Different Perspective Pride can prevent needed assistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Seven days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven-days/) ## Related quotes > [My father worked two jobs. He assembled speakers during the day, and then he sold real estate at night and on weekends. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-j-lundgren/my-father-worked-two-jobs-he-assembled-speakers-during-the-day-and/) [Terry J. Lundgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-j-lundgren/) > [I never knew a man escape failures, in either mind or body, who worked seven days in a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-peel/i-never-knew-a-man-escape-failures-in-either-mind-or-body-who-worked/) [Robert Peel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-peel/) > [I grew up in the East End of London, the youngest of three boys in a Catholic household. Both my parents were market traders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herbert/i-grew-up-in-the-east-end-of-london-the-youngest-of-three-boys-in-a/) [James Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herbert/) > [Drill instructors worked seven days a week, fifteen to seventeen hours a day in many cases, with no time off in between platoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-ermey/drill-instructors-worked-seven-days-a-week-fifteen-to-seventeen-hours/) [R. Lee Ermey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-ermey/) > [If small businesspeople say they made it on their own, all they are saying is that nobody else worked seven days a week in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/if-small-businesspeople-say-they-made-it-on-their-own-all-they-are/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [While in my late teens and in my 20s, I worked seven days a week, 20 hours a day. I worked my tail off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-catsimatidis/while-in-my-late-teens-and-in-my-20s-i-worked-seven-days-a-week-20/) [John Catsimatidis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-catsimatidis/) > [With just an elementary school education, my father worked as a short order cook for forty years before retirement. He liked to boast that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-padilla/with-just-an-elementary-school-education-my-father-worked-as-a-short/) [Alex Padilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-padilla/) > [My father worked in a tyre factory. My mother worked as a teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/my-father-worked-in-a-tyre-factory-my-mother-worked-as-a-teacher/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [I'm the seventh child of George and Leona Douglas, and I don't ever remember a time when my father didn't work two jobs. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-keaton/i-m-the-seventh-child-of-george-and-leona-douglas-and-i-don-t-ever/) [Michael Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-keaton/) > [There were people who would complain about their jobs, and my mother would walk away from that job. I liked that a lot about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/there-were-people-who-would-complain-about-their-jobs-and-my-mother/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [I have two full-time jobs: one of a mother and the other of an actor. Both are equally important, and that's why I'm busy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/i-have-two-full-time-jobs-one-of-a-mother-and-the-other-of-an-actor/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [For years, I worked seven-day weeks, through birthdays and most public holidays, Christmases and New Year’s Eves included. I worked mornings and afternoons, resuming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonella-gambotto-burke/for-years-i-worked-seven-day-weeks-through-birthdays-and-most-public/) [Antonella Gambotto-Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonella-gambotto-burke/) > [Then I left school at 16 and worked in Perth Repertory Theatre, which was quite nearby where I lived. And I worked there for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/then-i-left-school-at-16-and-worked-in-perth-repertory-theatre-which/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [I worked seven years in territories in Japan and Puerto Rico and worked my way up to the main events on those cards, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-jarrett/i-worked-seven-years-in-territories-in-japan-and-puerto-rico-and/) [Jeff Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-jarrett/) > [I worked with women who were nurses and workers, women who worked in hotels, janitors who basically cleaned buildings, worked two jobs just to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecile-richards/i-worked-with-women-who-were-nurses-and-workers-women-who-worked-in/) [Cecile Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecile-richards/) ## More by Bill Duke > [It's assumed that light-skinned women have no problems or issues, but they are judged before you know who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/it-s-assumed-that-light-skinned-women-have-no-problems-or-issues-but/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [I'm a very private person, not much of a party person. That's how I keep my sanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/i-m-a-very-private-person-not-much-of-a-party-person-that-s-how-i/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [Do I see people working harder than me? I can't imagine that but if I do it inspires me to work harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/do-i-see-people-working-harder-than-me-i-can-t-imagine-that-but-if-i/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [I could direct a very decent Holocaust film, but I don't have the same experience as a young boy who was rocked to sleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/i-could-direct-a-very-decent-holocaust-film-but-i-don-t-have-the-same/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [I enjoyed 'Predator' a lot, and also 'Get Rich and Die Tryin'.' I really enjoyed that role and playing the O.G.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/i-enjoyed-predator-a-lot-and-also-get-rich-and-die-tryin-i-really/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [I come up in a segregated 1943 atmosphere of segregation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/i-come-up-in-a-segregated-1943-atmosphere-of-segregation/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [I've been very selfish and the women in my life have hated that because of my work ethic. I try not to bring my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/i-ve-been-very-selfish-and-the-women-in-my-life-have-hated-that/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [By healing the internal issues that we can heal as a people, our children don't have to suffer the same agony and pain that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/by-healing-the-internal-issues-that-we-can-heal-as-a-people-our/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [I don't say, 'Francis Ford Coppola, what a wonderful Italian-American director.' I judge him based on his film, his craft, his art. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/i-don-t-say-francis-ford-coppola-what-a-wonderful-italian-american/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [Well, in the '80s and '70s, with the exception of Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters, maybe Ivan Dixon, if you were as big and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/well-in-the-80s-and-70s-with-the-exception-of-sidney-poitier-and/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [I'm an American, but being a black American, my experience is a particular one, my struggles have been particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/i-m-an-american-but-being-a-black-american-my-experience-is-a/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [How can you compare 'Hollywood Shuffle,' financed through the director's credit cards, and 'Apocalypse Now?' You have to take into consideration the conditions under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/how-can-you-compare-hollywood-shuffle-financed-through-the-director-s/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [It really upsets me that the media insists on turning 'Do the Right Thing' or 'Boyz N the Hood' into 'black films.' They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/it-really-upsets-me-that-the-media-insists-on-turning-do-the-right/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [Television is an excellent training ground for a director. If you work consistently in television, as I did, you have to come in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/television-is-an-excellent-training-ground-for-a-director-if-you-work/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) > [There is no reason why excellent pictures can't be made for $4-5 million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/there-is-no-reason-why-excellent-pictures-can-t-be-made-for-4-5/) [Bill Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) [Explore all 63 Bill Duke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/) ## More Days quotes > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [We're on the road 300 days a year. There's no recovery time. It's a test of your physical and mental endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-phoenix/we-re-on-the-road-300-days-a-year-there-s-no-recovery-time-it-s-a/) [Beth Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-phoenix/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [When I wake up on a Monday morning, it's nice knowing for the next 10-12 days that I don't have to do much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-i-wake-up-on-a-monday-morning-it-s-nice-knowing-for-the-next-10/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Everybody has bad days, but how you respond to it is a testament to whether you are a winner or a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/everybody-has-bad-days-but-how-you-respond-to-it-is-a-testament-to/) [Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/) > [I recently had an epiphany and now I'm making the most of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-recently-had-an-epiphany-and-now-i-m-making-the-most-of-my-days/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [I've always been a fan of old-time hymns and Scots-Irish dirges, though I wouldn't necessarily consider myself an expert on the type of music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-bingham/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-old-time-hymns-and-scots-irish-dirges/) [Ryan Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-bingham/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [These were days when my heart was volcanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allen-poe/these-were-days-when-my-heart-was-volcanic/) [Edgar Allen Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allen-poe/) > [Some days, I'm going to miss shots; some days, I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-green/some-days-i-m-going-to-miss-shots-some-days-i-m-not/) [Gerald Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-green/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [We simply do not have time as we move from one meeting to the next to have hours to peruse leisure websites of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/we-simply-do-not-have-time-as-we-move-from-one-meeting-to-the-next-to/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) Browse all 4,561 Days quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My father worked three jobs, my mother worked two, seven days a week sometimes. And they wouldn't take welfare or social assistance, they were too proud.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Duke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-worked-two-seven-days-a-week/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Days" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-worked-two-seven-days-a-week/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/bill-duke-10801_days_my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-wo_335718.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/bill-duke-10801_days_my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-wo_335718.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/bill-duke-10801_days_my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-wo_335718.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My father worked three jobs, my mother worked two, seven days a week sometimes. And they wouldn't take…” — Bill Duke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Duke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-duke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My father worked three jobs, my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-worked-two-seven-days-a-week/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-duke/my-father-worked-three-jobs-my-mother-worked-two-seven-days-a-week/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```