Last night, I was talking to Maria for the better part of an hour. She needed someone she could talk with, and I was the designated recipient of the phone call. So, I listened to her vent about her husband's illness, her daughter's chemical imbalance and irresponsibility, and the breakdown of her computer. Today, we had plans to talk with each other when she got off of work.
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This morning, I had totally forgotten about Maria's call as I went about my day. Not having that much to do, I had the TV on in the background when she called. It seems as Maria was helped by last night's chat, as she was telling me about the sequence of events for her day - work, dropping the computer off at a fix-it shop, and then taking her husband for continuing medical care.
Maria is the type of person for whom doing the right thing isn't enough to keep bad things from happening. When her first marriage ended, she was left with only the roof over her head. For 6 months or so, she was sleeping on a bed she borrowed fro me. Her ex-husband had taken almost all the furniture in the house as he left. Her second (and current) husband had his own issues that I won't go into right now. It is the aftermath of these issues that is adding to Maria's problems. Couple this with a daughter who is irresponsible, a grandson that Maria is raising, and a granddaughter on the way, and Maria is highly stressed.
Sadly, I don't see a happy end in sight for Maria. Her husband is not the type of person who could advocate for himself that well, and seems to have given up on life. I hope I'm wrong, but I'll be there for my friend of several decades when the worst inevitably happens.
