Dear Anita,

Well, heres the thing – when she is not proud – she always changes back, or she gets so weak and emotional and then we have to help her be happy again.  So thats what it is.

I cant recall if I ever pretended it didn’t happen, or distract, or look elsewhere.  Because see, my mom needs a lot of help – and she gets angry sometimes because she is overwhelmed, and after she gets mad or disappointed or there is a big fight it goes back to her feeling sad again – feeling sad about her life.