****But I am more deteremind than ever to break the cycle!

I agree. You will. You kids and their kids may never thank you because they will never know. But it is not about gratitude. It's about kicking life's cycles in the nuts and doing the right thing.

****I did accomplish one thing yesterday... I took everything out of the pantry and re-organized it and got rid of some stuff. That was a big job, now I need to get busy on the rest of the chores!

That's blues busting 101...do something physical that you can look at and see some kind of result for your efforts. Good for you!