I wish I could do something to make my mommers happy again.

It seems ever since she lost her job a few months ago, mommers's health has declined to the point to where we hardly ever see her any more, leaving me or my father to take care of things around the house.

Most days, mommers spends her days lying in bed, either feeding her face or sleeping for upwards to 10 to 15 hours a day.  When she is awake and is not eating, she spends most of the day, crying or bemoaning how terrible she is.

Mommers used to be a high-powered attourney.  She worked with complex divorce cases.  She loved her job very much.  Then came the news that the company she worked for was closing; jobs were being eliminated, even outsourced elsewhere (probably to India or Korea).  People would be laid off, including my mommers, or else they would have to go elsewhere, find other jobs.

Mommers took the news incredibly hard. We all did.  We were used to her hardly being home; if she was, it was like two ships that passed in the night.  We only saw her briefly in the mornings, before we kids headed off to school; daddy, meanwhile, ran things at home.  Mommers usually didn't get home until late at night, so daddy ran the show here at home.

On weekends, mommers slept until 12 or 1 in the afternoon.  Then she acted more like a normal parent, taking us to our games, to the mall, or whatnot.  She was a lot of fun to be with.

Then came the news that mommers had lost her job.  She came home early that afternoon, face wet with tears, eyes red, a look of defeat on her face.  She didn't have to say anything:  we knew.  Somehow, we knew that whatevver news she was going to deliver was going to be bad.

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Mommers spends her days in bed.  She has no energy to get up or do things.  Deep, dark circles surround her eyes, making her look like a raccoon or at least a ghostly zombie.  Her face is pale, devoid of color; her eyes, once full of life, now look listlessly at you.  She has lost an incredible amount of weight:  her clothes now hang on her; she's nothing but skin and bones.  It is terrifying to see.

When daddy took her to the doctor, he examined her, said she was suffering from severe depression, which is where a person feels sad all of the time.  He said getting her to do things or to have her see a counselor would help; he would also give her special medications to help her sad moods.  He said that depression was a sickness, like cancer or AIDS; it could be serious if it was not treated:  it could lead to severe mental instability or even suicide.

I don't think mommers has been taking her meds or even seeing her counselor.  In fact, I know she hasn't:  her pills still sit unopened on the dresser in their bedroom, and the counselor has called nearly every week, asking when she was going to come back to her session.  It has all of us worried:  I think mommers is about ready to give up on life.

How can she be a good mother to us when all she does is lie there in bed, with the covers pulled over her head, and sleep all day??

Please keep us in your prayers; I am really worried about my mommers!

*To be continued.*