December 25th (Christmas): Mom had a total break. She cried all day because her ‘successful son’ didn’t call until 8 PM. By then, she was too confused to speak. I played an old voicemail of his on a loop just to get her to eat a few spoonfuls of soup. I ate a cold sandwich on the floor by her bed so she wouldn’t be scared.
January 15th: My back gave out today lifting her from the bath. Doctor says I have a herniated disc, but I can’t take the time off to get surgery. Who would watch her? Just took extra Tylenol and kept going.
I closed the notebook. A lump formed in my throat, hard and painful. I couldn’t swallow.
David looked me dead in the eye.
“You sent $2,000 a month, Michael. And I appreciate that. Truly. But while you were sending checks, you were sleeping eight hours a night.”
