I Collapsed on the Kitchen Floor Begging for Help—My Son Said, ‘It’s Katie’s Birthday.’ That Night, I Realized I Was No Longer His Mother. By Morning, My Decision Changed Everything. It happened on a Wednesday night. The kind of night when exhaustion feels like a second skin, a heavy, suffocating blanket you can’t shrug off. The kitchen smelled faintly of burnt pasta—a meal I’d forgotten on the stove while juggling a mountain of laundry and a looming stack of bills from my last car repair. The d