Hi Michah: I do make an effort to care for myself. It can be very difficult to find the time. And it's hard to plan when I don't know where my son will be at emotionally at any given moment.

Unfortunately - or maybe fortunately - I come to this task already exhausted. I adopted a troubled teenaged boy in 2004 and he's only recently moved out of my home. I had a few months of blissful peace before my older son needed to come home again.

So my reserves are nearly drained already. I haven't had time to recharge from the previous challenges - which, of course, are still on-going to some minor extent, because he's still my son even though he's moved out.

On the other hand the challenges my younger son brought into my life taught me a lot about both myself and the "systems" surrounding people with psychological problems.

So I come to this task wiser and stronger than I would have been, but also very drained - physically, emotionally, financially - in every way one can be drained really.