Becoming a single parent by virtue of a divorce is devastating to some, a relief to others, depending on the circumstances. You may have had a wonderful spouse and thought that your marriage was unbreakable. Surprisingly, one day the carpet is ripped out from underneath you and you are hit with some surprising facts about your significant other that you were not aware. That is when the roof caves in and everything you thought you knew was a lie. To others, you might have fallen out of love, had an abusive partner, or a partner who just did not want to work as a team player leaving you to shoulder most of the responsibilities. In this case, I am sure it is a relief. Your children, at least, will be able to see their other parent. This is a good thing even if the other parent is a less than desirable parenting figure.
When your significant other leaves you in death, it is a very different story. You are still a single parent either way, but you most likely planned to be together forever and then forever fades away in a matter of minutes. There is sometimes a warning and other times there is not. Even when there is a warning there is always hope and you never imagined yourself alone to raise the children.
Single parenting has different challenges in the case of a widow or widower. There are no visitations to take your children to, as their other parent is not physically there. The loss is great and reflected in your children’s eyes each and every day.
A great website that offers some very helpful emotional support is available to grieving single parents. At http://www.widownet.org/, you can discuss many different aspects pertaining to your needs and there is always someone that will offer some advice or just lend an ear. Single parenting is always a tough situation, but a widow/widower who is a single parent has some additional needs that just cannot be addressed amongst other single parents in a divorce or a single by choice situation. You will find a friend here.
Angel Lynn writes in weight loss, single parenting, and health.