When I was in the sixth grade, around Christmas time, my mother had a complete emotional breakdown because she was on that now infamous Phen-Fen diet (you know, the one that kept killing everyone?) and my brother's father just broke her inside. Now everytime any kind of holiday like this rolls around, I'm not too thrilled.
At present, my mother is extreamly emotionally ill, my brother's father isn't helping, and there's nothing I can do. I keep thinking about how much I'm a burden (medically and all) to my family, but truth be told, I am the sticky glue that holds up the fragile pieces to my mother's sanity. If I wasn't around to help her out as much as I do, I think she would have just up and died long ago. I love my mommy so much, even when I can't stand her, I love her. :)