Thank you so much for your post. I'm so sorry, but I carried the lingo over here from the "baby boards" (the only place I've really lingered on message boards before now.) SAHM=Stay At Home Mom. You can guess how this contributes to my depression, perhaps. No outside interaction and my time is THEIRS! My beautiful girls are the loves of my life, but they are unwittingly draining the life force from me. I know that you can relate to some degree because you've got a furbaby (your German Shepard.) My oldest "baby" is actually my dog, Kirra, almost 8, a lab-x adopted from our local shelter. I also have her companion, Max, a 2 1/2 year old lab. They're great arent' they? The unconditional love is incomperable. Yet they draw on our energy too...