As Jane (Jon's mother) drove home from work, she thought about her life in general and how bad it had gotten. She was a single mother of three, thanks to her husband running out on her seven years earlier. What a jerk. Her son Jon was lazy, her daughter Zoe was disrespectful, and her younger son Mikey wanted to do nothing but sit in front of the TV and rot his brains out.
This wasn't the life she imagined for herself. Why did her life take such a nasty turn? Her friend Linda from across the street didn't seem to have any problems. She had a loving husband and a loving daughter. What did Linda do right that Jane hadn't?
Jane almost didn't want to go home. The responsibilities of being a single parent were too overwhelming for her. She didn't really have a great day at work and she didn't want to have more of the same at home.
She sighed and said "I wish ..."