While there are many challenges to being a single parent there are also benefits that are often overlooked.
This is not how I expected my family to look, but here it is, and I had to make the best of it. I have changed and grown so much since becoming a single mother. I am stronger, have more confidence in myself and I take more responsibility for things.
When I was married I didn’t need to know how the lawnmower worked or how to fix the kitchen sink. When I was first divorced I was at a loss about how to fix things.
After I bought my house I had to quickly learn to do all the things my ex husband had done. The sprinkler system baffled me, that weird noise in the car scared me and a flat tire was my undoing.
Luckily my friend Google and I figured it out. When I did my first home repair, which believe it or not was patching my roof, I felt invincible. I could do anything. I’ve learned that I can do most things myself, thanks to the internet and those wonderful people at Home Depot.
When I was in a financial bind, I got a second job. Hailey and I delivered newspapers to pay for a trip to California. She and I became a team that we might not have otherwise been.
The best part is that my daughter knows she can do it too. Hailey has never heard me say “Your father will fix it when he gets home.” Instead she has watched me do the research, find out how to fix the problem, buy the necessary equipment and do it myself.
The self confidence you gain when you know you can depend on yourself is amazing. I think every woman should have the opportunity to find out what’s she’s really made of, to learn what she can do.
Being a single parent has taught me more than anything else I’ve done in my life. And as a bonus, I have this amazing child. Who said single parenting was a raw deal? I feel so very blessed.