I'm at a loss at what to do. There's nothing that I CAN do, I think.

A couple of times, months ago I wrote about how my parents had divorced, my father doing everything he could to make my mother fail, and how we moved to Ireland. Then we moved back to the US, and then back to Ireland once more. We were going to get dual-citizenship status and along with it, EU passports. This would allow my mother to finally obtain a job and finally make some money. Without it, it's illegal for any of us in the family to get hired. My mom tried sending out resumes anyway while waiting for the passports; over 300, I believe. Each and every reply was the same. "The only thing stopping us from hiring you is that you don't have a work permit."

We failed to get our passports. To get mine, I'd have to serve in the Greek army for a full year. A year in a country I don't know, with a language I can't speak. Even then, I'd have to wait until the year is over BEFORE my mom could obtain a work permit.

To get my sister's, she would need a notarized letter from my father, stating that he was born in Greece and would make us eligible for dual-citizenship. He refuses to do it to prevent my mother from being able to find work. He's admitted this.

I went down to the store and withdrew a bit of money for snacks and cigarettes (for my mom. I don't smoke.) I was told to keep the receipt and give it to her, so she could see how much was in the account.

$45

My mom begins to panic and I could see the fear in her expression. How could this be accurate? She should've had another $2000 in there! She contacted the bank and spoke with someone, to see if there was a mistake. No mistake. It seems we really have burned through the rest of our money.

To make matters worse, my mother's lawyer is requesting another $2500 in advance to continue representing her in the child custody case. My dad's not doing this for custody. He knows he can outspend her and is doing this to make her broke. It worked.

All of our belongings have already been picked up by the shipping company for when we're moving back to the United States. There's really nothing left we could even sell now, but there's also no money to get anything back, much less ship it.

We still have a week before our plane. We don't have the money for a cheap hotel, or cab fare. We don't even have the money for food this week. Our phone has been shut off, and the only reason we still have internet access is because Eircom, the provider, doesn't seem to know how to shut us off.

That's not the end of it, either. Back when my parents were still married, my dad and my grandmother had been cheating on his business's taxes. The IRS has gotten wind of it, and my dad's pinning the blame on my mother. He's told them that "she took the kids, packed up everything and fled the country." It's possible that my mom could be flying into the US and expecting handcuffs.

Merry Christmas.