FOXBORO -- Laurence Maroney watched his mother. He knew she got up early in the morning to put in a full day at work, then came home and shuttled him to football practice and later cooked dinner for her children.

He recognized the effort she was putting in, getting overtime hours when she could to make sure Laurence and his two older siblings had a little bit more than just the necessities.

And now he's paying her back.

Two days before he was drafted, Maroney's mother left her job as a corporate trainer at Great West Healthcare in their native St. Louis for the last time, retired after 23 years.

Terri Terrell still works now, though, but it's infinitely more fun when your "boss" is your son.

She's now the business manager for her first-round-draft-pick youngest child, handling everything from selecting the North Attleboro condo where he lives to running his charitable foundation.

In a way, she's living Maroney's dream.

"She was just one of those supportive parents that kept me focused, kept me right," Maroney said Friday. "We might not have had the best clothes and the best shoes, but she made sure I always had clothes and shoes, and I really love her for that.

"It was just her (raising the family). She didn't work a lot of jobs, but she worked long hours, so it was just something I told myself I would take care of her whenever I get some money."

The young man said he realized at a young age the sacrifices his mother was making for himself and Stephannie; brother Willie lived primarily with his father in Ohio but spent holidays in St. Louis. Willie currently lives with Maroney to, as he said, help keep him focused.

"I always felt that she's working hard to keep food on the table and keep me clothed, you know; the least I could do was work hard in school and work hard at what I do. I was the spoiled one, and basically she (told me) I never had to work chores. I've never had a job, never filled out an application for a job," Maroney said. "So I said, OK, she's making my life easier, at least I can give it my all in sport and see if I can make something out of it."

Maroney was so anxious to get his mother out of her 9-to-5 job that he tried to convince her to hand in her notice in December of last year, when he decided he would forego his senior season at Minnesota and enter the draft.

"But my dad had a saying: 'Don't count your chickens before they walk,' " said Terrell. "I told him anything could happen between then and the draft."

So she waited until April 27; two days later, more than 250 friends and family crowded into the Boys & Girls Club where Maroney was a member to watch the draft.

When then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced that New England had chosen Maroney with the 21st pick, Terrell's first thought was, "Wow!"

"I guess, for me, it was just sitting there and seeing everything that he had worked so hard for finally come true and see the excitement in his eyes when they finally called his name," she said.

Maroney claims every day is a vacation now for his mother, though she asserts it's not quite that carefree since managing her son's affairs keeps her busy. There's also the matter of designing and choosing items for the home Maroney is having built for his mother and himself in St. Louis County.

"I think he thinks it is (a life of leisure), but he doesn't understand how much involvement it is," Terrell said. "I do mix some vacation in with travel. We're getting his foundation up and running, the Laurence Maroney 39 Foundation; we'll do work in St. Louis, Massachusetts and possibly Minnesota. We had a turkey giveaway for 100 families in St. Louis, and at the children's home where we've adopted 60 families they decided they'd like to have New England Patriots T-shirts, so I worked with a guy at Reebok to get that done; we passed those out (Thursday) night. It's a lot of work but a lot of fun. I'm having a great time."

And that was the point when Maroney got his mother to retire from corporate life.

"She's loving it and I'm glad to see a smile on her face," he said. "She says she's still working because I always have her running around doing something, but you know, she's just having fun. It's good to see her have a smile on her face.

"That makes me happy to know that she's happy."

smanza@projo.com / (401) 277-7340