I AM very blessed to have a wonderful and kind mother-in-law. I live 2000 miles away from my family, and she has always made me feel I have a supporting family right here. However, I worry about her a great deal.

For 30 years she was a stay-at-home mother of three, and took care of her husband. Four years ago, he left her for another woman and moved out of the country. Because he has not paid the alimony the court decided on, she had to sell her house and buy a much smaller one. She got a job working retail, hoping to pay her bills. It’s a struggle.

Her youngest just graduated from college and moved 300 miles away. When I spoke to her tonight, she said: “My children, and now you, are my life. You are what I am living for.” This was not a melodramatic declaration, a cry for attention, or a guilt trip laid on because my husband and I are busy people and haven’t spent as much time with her as we should.

She meant it from the bottom of her heart. Her entire adult life was spent as a wife and mother, and now that she doesn’t have these things, she is depressed and lonely. It simply breaks my heart to watch her look so wistful when she asks about my parents and what they are doing with their retirement.

How can I help her find something she is interested in; something to help her connect with other people?
Jo