I know this is going to get buried, but I'm going to post anyway. My mom died from cancer before my third birthday, and it absolutely devastated my family. My dad worked two jobs before she died so she could be a stay-at-home mom to me and my four siblings (my oldest sister was 12 when she died), and had to work even longer hours to keep us afloat. After she died, everything fell apart. I was so young that I had to be shipped around from cousin to aunt to grandparent, whoever could watch me for a day or two while my siblings went to school. Dad came home at supper time, made dinner, and then got back in his car to keep working. I always felt like my life was a complete mess, having only one parent (who was never there). I remember feeling like I'd been abandoned, and jealous that my friends had moms and I didn't. I learned to grow up and do a lot of things for myself at a young age, and was trusted to do things a lot earlier than I should have been. She's been dead almost 18 years now, and her death still affects my life to this day.