Every once in a while I find myself becoming a tree. I may not be literally standing out in the yard trying to grow leaves, but you’ll understand better in a moment. It isn’t uncommon for single parents to be upset with where they are at in their lives. Getting divorced is hard, dealing with the loss of a spouse is hard, raising kids is hard, pretty much anyway you look at it, single parenting is hard! It is easy to dream of a simpler world where the laundry would fold itself, the dishes would magically end up in the dishwasher, and the children would clean their rooms without being asked. Unfortunately only Disney seems to be able to get away with that, so we are left looking at reality.
Now back to the tree. If you don’t like where you are at in your life, change it! Unlike a tree, you have the power to get up and do something about it. You may feel stuck. You may feel like you don’t have any options. But it’s time to take a step out of the victim role, whether you were victimized or not and take the power back. You have the power to change your situation now. You have the power to be happy with where you are at in your life. Maybe it’s not ideal, but you can still find happiness in it.
When I got divorced I was NOT happy with where I was in my life. So what did I do? I got up and did something about it. I decided that I no longer wanted to go to nursing school, even though it seemed like the logical option for me at the time. I took control of my life and said, “I’m going to be a teacher instead.” And you know what? That’s just what I did. I enrolled in a new university and started the elementary education program right away. I decided I wanted to make a little bit of extra money for my family, so I got up and did what I had to do. I now write from home, something I always dreamed about doing, all because I got up and decided to start my life over. It took realizing that I had the power. I am not a tree.