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Mom had really been overworking herself lately. Late night meetings with her boss, coming home with papers and binders filled with documents that she would have to sit and sort through.
All these responsibilities had taken their toll on her, and I could tell that it was finally catching up with her.
Many nights I had found her sound asleep at the kitchen table, face-down in a pile of papers, her body completely limp and lifeless.
The only indication that she was still alive was the light rising and falling of her shoulders as her lungs drew in shallow breath after shallow breath.
Dad leaving was quite the hit for her as he used to do all the household chores while she kept up with her workload.
But now it was just her - and me, of course. I did my best to try and pick up the slack that Dad left behind, but it was tough going.
She tried her best to smile and be happy, but I could see the strain that it was all putting on her.
I also suspect that she had some undiagnosed Narcolepsy, contributing to her sudden sleep spells. I felt really bad for her.
One night in the middle of the night, I woke up needing to pee. Once that was taken care of, I padded down the stairs for a light snack.
That's when I saw her:
In her stress-induced haze, mom had stripped to her bra and panties and had a bucket and cleaner next to her. She'd fallen asleep trying to clean the floor!
Bless her heart, I thought. Poor, sweet mom.
I walked over to her to see if I could wake her up and get her to bed - but she was dead to the world.
That's when I realized that I had never seen my mother in such a state of undress before.
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