Mom plunged into depression when Dad died. I had tested my wings and left the nest years earlier, and now, for the first time in her life, Mom was alone. I lived nearby and checked on her often, but it didn't take a trained eye to see she wasn't faring well. She shunned friends and neighbors, lost weight because she wasn't eating properly, and the "toddy" she once enjoyed before bedtime was now poured in mid afternoon. One day I caught her drinking at noon. I couldn't allow this to continue.
