I agree with Kori when she says being a single parent isn’t easy; I also agree that there are a lot of things about being a single parent that make up for it. I just wanted to add a few things to her list that I love about being a single parent.
I like that I get to make all of our decisions. I don’t have to check with someone when I make a decision about my son or us as a family. I have family and friends that I can talk it over with and bounce ideas off of, but I don’t have to get the approval from another person before anything is finalized.
I like that I am in control of our every day lives. I know what my schedule is and how to work around it, and I know what his schedule is. If I want us to take off for a week to go visit family, or if I want to spend a whole day on a field trip, so be it. If we want to do something special, I pick up a few more hours, and cut back on other spending, and we’re good to go.
I like that I know where my son is and who he’s with 24 hours a day. Will it get a little harder to know that when my son is older? Sure, but it’s still possible. That doesn’t mean I control him, and if he wants to go to a friends house, or go to the park with friends, he is more than welcome. I, however, know all of his friends, and their parents, and know that I can trust all of them. I don’t have to worry about him going with his dad and being with people I don’t know, because he doesn’t go with his dad.
I also have to list being able to do things my way, just as Kori did. She sounds a lot like me in the fact that, if we want to eat ice cream first thing in the morning, so be it, if we want to spend the day playing video games in his room, go us. Now, she’ll probably agree with me when I say this isn’t the norm, but if we want to do something out of the ordinary and fun, something that we enjoy doing every once in a while, to take a break from the ordinary, let’s go for it! You only live once.
Also see I’m Not sorry, I’m Thankful for more advantages that I’ve found came from being a single parent.