Today is one of those days when it’s so frustrating to be a single parent. Most days I am happy with the life I have. Most of the time I’m not sad that I’m a single mom, I love my daughter, I have a great job and great friends, but some days I still get overwhelmed.
Here in Utah Fall is well on its way. The nights are chilly, reminding us that winter is just a breath away. It’s time to do all of the things that are necessary to get us, the house and the yard ready for winter. As I go around the house my to do list just gets longer and longer. First I have to pull out the winter coats, boots, hats and gloves, do we have enough? Time to wash all of that and get it back in the hall closet. Then the winter clothes need to come out of boxes and the summer stuff needs to be packed up.
The windows in my house are old and drafty, they need weather stripping and eventually I’ll have to put plastic over them. Are the tires on both cars good enough for another winter? Do we have enough ice melt? Where are the snow shovels and ice scrapers? It’s time to redo the emergency kits in both cars. Did I remember to put blankets in there? Speaking of blankets, it’s time to get those out and wash them.
As I pass a window I’m reminded of how much there is to do outside of the house. The swamp cooler needs to be winterized. The lawn needs to be fertilized. The sprinkler system needs to be shut down. Not to mention the roses need to be cut back and the vegetable garden needs to be put to bed for the winter.
There is so much to do and only so many hours in the day. If I only had to do those things I would not feel so overwhelmed but there are still dinners to make, grocery shopping to do, clothes to wash and a house to clean and a job to go to that pays for it all. This is one of those times when it’s so frustrating to be alone. As rewarding as it has been to be Hailey’s sole parent there are times I wish someone else was sharing the load.