Is it just me, or is the single parent’s life one of frustration at every turn?
Webster’s dictionary defines frustration as:
A deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs.
Come on, you can’t tell me that your picture shouldn’t be there!
The average single parent’s life is characterized by both unresolved problems and unfulfilled needs. When you think about it, our typical day involves:
- Not being able to go where we’d like to go
- Not being able to do what we’d like to do
- Not being able to take the kind of job we’d like to take
- Not being able to live where we’d like to live
- Not having a partner to share our lives
- Not having enough money
- Not having help with much of anything
I can’t believe all those “not’s” I just listed! I sound so negative. Maybe I’m just tired today. But don’t you:
- Wish you could just up and get away – take a trip someplace to refresh and reenergize your body and your soul?
- Wonder how you’re going to keep up with the endless demands, the non-stop challenges?
- Want, as selfish as it sounds, to be able to do what you want, what’s good for you, without ALWAYS putting someone else’s needs first?
I guess I sound cranky. Maybe getting four hours of sleep last night is responsible for that.
When I feel like this, I tend to say to myself: quit your whining! You can’t do anything about it anyway.
Then suddenly it smacks me (again – this isn’t the first time) in the face: thank God my child is still young and home with me. Too soon, he will be gone. Looking back, most of his childhood years have already disappeared in a blink. Yes, life is hard; yes, I’m tired; yes, I wish I could just stop and rest and take care of myself for awhile.
But I’ve been blessed to participate in the creation of a human life. I’ve been trusted with the incredible responsibility for nurturing and strengthening and guiding that young life.
And most of all: God, how I love that boy.