How about some encouragement

This is the story of a woman who has everything and was dealt a blow of defeat. This woman is my mother. My mama is a practical woman. She has built a life with my Padre. They had one kid (Me!), have a nice house, nice cars, and one spoiled ass dog (Mickey). She and my Padre were married when he was 20 and she was 19. One year and one month later, yours truly was born. They never had a honeymoon save for the take out pizza and popcorn after the wedding, then it was back to work at their third shift jobs at the local cotton mill. So last year, for their 25th wedding anniversary, my Padre took her to Disney World. To say that my mama loves Mickey Mouse is a gross understatement. She shed tears when she was told she would get to meet him privately, and she shed some more when it was time to come back home. My Padre made a promise to her when they were married: I will give you everything you've ever wanted. She says he's made good on his promise. When she looks back through her pictures of that wonderful week in Florida, she'll run to him in the living room. He'll be sitting in his recliner that is slightly lopsided and worn from so much use, but not enough to throw it out and get a new one, and she'll wrap her arms around him and cry. She'll tell him how much she loves him and thank him profusely for taking her to the happiest place on earth. She'll joke about moving there to be a follower of the Mouse. He'll joke about seeing her once a year while he's on vacation. She loves him, and he loves her, and I love them both. She deserves nothing but the best. After all, she's had to put up with him for 26 years, and me for 25. She definitely deserves a medal. Or at least a purple heart. She's one of the smartest and kindest people I know.

That's why it's a little unnerving that she can't get the job she wants. She's been faithful to her company for 8 years. She makes less money than those who just started a year ago. She hasn't had a raise in 4 years. Her boss just built a new million dollar building for his business and would rather pay them overtime than give them a raise. My mother has not been happy in her job. She has helped a friend from a previous job, obtain a job with her. That friend stabbed her in the back. She goes to work everyday and does her job to the best of her abilities, which after eight years are alot. She minds her own business, makes a few friends, and gets demeaned by her boss. She's unhappy, so she looks for other employment. She applies to endless other companies and never hears a word. She hurts her hip (I forget how) and when she gives her boss her doctor's note, he calls her doctor an idiot. He says, "There is nothing wrong with you." She still goes to work and does her job to the best of her ability. She is faithful to her company. Last year after her vacation, she applies to numerous other companies and vows, "The first offer I get, I'm gone." She never hears a word about her resume or applications.

About a month ago, my mother was taken to the hospital by my Padre. Around 5:30 in the morning, my mother thought she was having a heart attack. I went to see her in the hospital. She looked so beaten down, so fragile. I was afraid to touch her. She looked so weak, so defeated. The cardiologist came in and spoke with all three of us. She would have a nuclear stress test to determine how strong her heart was, but he didn't see any signs of a heart attack. After he left, and it was just the three of us, I held my mother's hand. She started crying and said, "My job is going to end up killing me." The company that she had stayed faithful to, because she loved the work, was trying to break her down. They didn't care that she came in at 7 am every morning and busted her ass to make sure her job was done and done correctly. Nor did they care that she never made waves and always did as she was told. They were trying to break her spirit. Then they could hire some hispanic lady who speaks very little English for a fraction of what they were paying her, to do her job. Her company does not care about their employees. When my Padre and I called her company to relay that she would not be in to work for the next few days, they didn't even respond. When she returned back to work, they didn't even care. This is not a big company. They probably have about 25 employees.

I could tell that my mother, who once was full of energy and fiesty, was now in a funk. She was cranky and didn't care to do almost anything. When my mother left the hospital she was placed on a small dose of Zoloft. Her tests came back as stress related. The cardiologist felt she was a little depressed. When she came home from her short stay in the hospital she cried because he had placed her on an anti-depressant. Depression runs in our family, but is not talked about. So does anxiety. I have both. My mother felt defeated. Her regular doctor placed her on another ant-depressant, Welbutrin. I have been prescribed this before. I try to console my mother that it's okay to have some help (the Welbutrin) once in a while until you don't need it anymore. I am currently not on anything(although I feel I need to be). I try to be her words of encouragement. She just found out that her sister is on an anti-depressant, and although it doesn't instantly relieve her apprehension, it helps. My mother comes home from work and cries. She looks like she's unsure of herself now. She isn't fiesty. My mother has suffered a blow.

When she came home from the hospital, I whipped out her resume and combed the internet for jobs that she was qualified for. I sent out resumes and applications. I searched everyday. I still search. We search the newspaper together. We talk a couple of times a week and she asks me everytime if I've heard anything from any prospects. It breaks my heart when I have to tell her no. We believe that her company, the one she has worked so hard for for the last 8 years, is sabotaging her efforts to better herself. She hasn't had a raise in 4 years. She has no benefits. She works her fingers to the bone and is never rewarded. Not even a simple "Thank you for all you do." She works for a company who does not care. And now they are nixing her efforts at every corner to escape. She needs a morale boost and they will not give it to her. My mother's job will end up killing her. It will sap her of happiness. And it is truly a shame.