Tag Archives: mentor

You Can’t Fill Every Role As A Single Parent

Single parents often feel very alone, almost like you’re the only one in the world facing these particular problems and challenges. Although everyone does have their personal uphill battles, according to the US Census Bureau, in 2006 there were 12.9 million one-parent families in the United States. Of those, 10.4 million were single mothers. Assuredly, today there are millions more. So, the good news is that we really aren’t alone. The bad news is, it’s still a tough job fulfilling so many roles. Is it really possible to be everything to your child or children? As a self-proclaimed workaholic and … Continue reading →

The Value of a Mentorship

Having a mentor can be a valuable experience and is an idea that some schools here have adopted. They bring in experts in certain areas and these experts take young people under their wing to teach, encourage and help them in their chosen path. It also works well at college age group, or in fact at any age. I have been on the receiving end of a mentorship as well as on the giving end, both in areas of writing. In each case it was a worthwhile relationship. A mentor needs not only to be someone who is further along … Continue reading →

Sometimes, You Need to Hear from Someone who has Been There

As much as I like a lot of diversity in my life and I generally feel most comfortable when I am surrounded by people with different ideas, values, and opinions, there are times when I really just need advice and conversation with someone who has been there. All the compassion and sympathy in the world just cannot make up for someone who has actually walked in my shoes. I do not rule out that those who have not lived through the same thing or things that I have can be helpful, but I think that we all occasionally feel like … Continue reading →

Where to Go for Inspiration

I have written about how we can be advocates, role models and mentors for other single parents and single parent families; and how we can advocate for single parent families in general. But, many of us would love to have a mentor of our own—or at least have some place to go for encouragement and inspiration that we don’t have to conjure up ourselves. Most of the time, I can pretty much manage things myself, but occasionally, I really need a boost or a blast of inspiration from someone or something else. It has been well-documented that single parents can … Continue reading →

Being a Mentor And Example to Other Single Parents

A few years ago, there were some commercials on television that featured sports stars and figures selling something (tennis shoes?) and the tag line was: “I am not a role model.” I remember having mixed feelings about those ads since, of course, sports figures are role models to young children, even if it reluctantly. But, I know I feel the same way about being a single parent–I know that I sometimes represent single parents everywhere and serve as an example whether I want to or not and I do feel compelled to represent single-parent families well… Depending on the world … Continue reading →

Learning Not to Repeat Mistakes

While people who have gone through a divorce have a good idea of what went wrong, most move on in life only to repeat some of the same mistakes. One of the problems is that divorced people rarely allow themselves adequate time to heal. Even when couples have been separated for two years, once the divorce is final, they still need time to get past some of the hurt and anger. Remember, after the divorce, you want to be a better person – for you, the children, and your future. In addition, not taking adequate time to heal does the … Continue reading →

Accountability Partners

Most Christians I’ve talked with seem to have a pretty good understanding of what an accountability partner is. It’s a fellow believer that you can go to for prayer requests, fellowship, study, and well of course, accountability. When choosing an accountability partner, it’s probably better you find someone other than your spouse and someone of the same gender as yourself. No one is going to understand women’s issues better than a woman, and no one will understand a man’s issues quite like a man. Typically, though not always, men and women tend to have different types of struggles. Women tend … Continue reading →