<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Monday, May 1, 2006By Teresa VarleySteelers.comSantonio Holmes was finally getting some rest after basking in the glow of being drafted in the first-round by the Steelers when his mother, Patricia Brown, got up and headed off to work.While it was the best day in Holmes' football career, Brown knew that she still had to provide for the family, which includes Holmes three younger brothers.So, instead of getting some much needed sleep after a day filled with emotion and excitement, Brown went about her normal business."The one thing that really hurt me about the whole situation is that the day after I got drafted she got up at 3 o'clock in the morning to work in the field," said Holmes during a press conference at the Steelers practice facility on Monday. "I really didn't appreciate it but I commend my mom on all the things she's been able to do and the way she's continued to work and support her family."Brown works in a corn field in Belle Glade, Florida, packing corn. It's a long, tough day for her, starting in the wee hours of the morning and lasting until the afternoon. But it puts food on the table and pays the bills.But after being selected in the draft, Holmes let her know things were going to get easier, that she didn't have to go back to the fields. She wasn't ready for that, though."I told her all our worries are pretty much taken care of now, financially," said Holmes. "Hopefully she is going to enjoy this moment just like I am."I tried, but she's not ready to accept it until the right time comes. I told her she doesn't have to worry about those things anymore."Life will definitely be easier for Holmes and his family now. The 22-year old has taken on responsibility that men twice his age never have to. He has three children of his own and helped to raise his three younger brothers, ages 7-19, while his mom went to work. His father left when he was just two years old, and it hasn't been until recently that he has had any kind of relationship with him.It's been his mom who has been there for him and he was always willing to accept extra responsibility to help out at home because of that."She's been my backbone," said Holmes. "We never really had a close relationship until I got to college. I was always afraid to talk to my mom about anything. Now I call whenever I have a problem with anything."She's always there for me. She's been working in the fields all her life. I had to raise my brothers by myself. She's just been a hard worker. I commend her on all the things that she was able to accomplish even though she didn't get a chance to go to college. She still went back and got her high school degree and she went off into nursing school. I'm going to continue to help her with that."Holmes decided to enter the draft after his junior year at Ohio State, but he is keeping his education as a top priority. He plans on going back to school after next season so that he can graduate - something that is important to his mother."It's something that my mom has been drilling into my head since I was a little kid," said Holmes. "She's so proud of me right now for being drafted but at the same time she's telling me there's nothing more important than having my degree because if things don't go right in the NFL there's always something to fall back on. She's always told me that no one can ever take this away from me because I earned it and worked for it."And if there is something Patricia Brown knows well, it's working hard for what you get.</div>
