【英语时差8,16】不想独立照顾婆婆

Dear Annie:

I am in a dead-end marriage and also am the caregiver for my husband's 85-year-old invalid¹ mother. After my mother-in-law came out of the hospital two years ago, I was the only one who volunteered to take her in. I thought it would bring my husband and me closer, but it has only created more problems.

He won't even help me with her unless I start a fight about it. My husband's siblings²－all four of them－said, "We'll help whenever you need something," and changed their minds shortly after she moved in. They visit her once a week and think it's enough. She is THEIR mother, not mine. My mother-in-law is a nice lady who helped me in the past. But it's a burden to be tied down 24/7. Any suggestions? － Burned OutDear Burned Out:

Being a caregiver is hard work and you are to be commended³ for taking on this often thankless job. Have your husband get his siblings together with you and create a schedule so each one is responsible for Mom one afternoon a week (or whatever you can work out). Or ask them to contribute financially to the cost of a senior day care program or home assistance⁴. We also recommend you contact the Family Caregiver Alliance⁵ for help, support, information and resources.

1 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

2 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

3 commended   

v.推荐( commend的过去式和过去分词 )；表扬；托付；受到赞同

参考例句：

• She was commended on her handling of the situation. 她因妥善处理了那个局面而受到表扬。
• He was commended for his statesmanlike handling of the crisis. 他处理那场危机，因表现出政治家的才干而受到称赞。

4 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

5 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。