Life as a single parent can get tiresome—it can be overwhelming, exhausting, scary, and frustrating. These are all topics we talk about fairly regularly here in the Single Parents blog. We also talk about some of the pleasures and joys so I do not want to focus only on the challenges. What I have learned as a single parent is that there are surely and certainly times when I am feeling overwhelmed and I want to complain, rant and whine—but in the end, I often just have to buckle down and do what needs to be done.
The strange thing is that I generally feel better and more confident when I stop resisting and whining and start “doing.” I am not advocating living a life where one focuses on doing instead of “being” or putting one’s identity all in the “what I’ve accomplished today” basket, but what I am trying to say is that often we just need to live our life—the life that actually belongs to us today—instead of complaining and fighting the realities.
For me, it helps if I remind myself that I do have a choice in just about all matters—just knowing that I am making the choice to do the work I do, live in the home I do, have the children I do, etc. seems to get me out of that place where I feel trapped or feel sorry for myself. There are definitely elements of my life that I cannot control and they may aggravate the heck out of me—but I do not have to let them get in the way of my doing what I need to or even enjoying some of those challenges (I know—“enjoying” may be asking a lot—but think of how good you feel when you accomplish and get through those things that need to be done!)
Single parents do not have the market cornered on hardship and sometimes the most satisfying thing of all is just getting through.
Also: Celebrate when You Realize Your Dreams
The Best Intentions of a Single Parent