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Two Things Single Parenting Taught Me
Not sure if I ever doubted my ability to be a single parent. In fact, it was never a thought.
My mom always said I didn’t want to be a single mother. I agreed. But who wants to be an unhappy wife? When a marriage turns sour its inevitable.
So as parents we do what we must. Slide into our new parenting roles with a vengeance to avoid defeat.
Six years have passed since becoming a single mother. Though it hasn’t been easy — I learned a couple of things:
#1 I can do this
When times got hard with the kids emotionally, I was the only adult present to take that on. In the beginning, everyone’s raw emotionally. Mom feels a way about dad. Dad about mom. And the kids feel a way about both.
Skipping on opportunities to speak ill of their dad, lashing out at him, and develop an emotional intelligence about myself were constant mantras in my head.
I can do this single mother thing.
The right way.
The best way for all of us.
#2 Holy sh*t I can do this!!
One reason I hadn’t split sooner from my ex was finances. Despite earning more that him in our latter years, I wasn’t confident in carrying a household on my…