Before my divorce I had been a stay-at-home-mom. When we separated, that was no longer an option for me. My parents graciously took us in so that I could finish my schooling, but I soon realized that this would also mean that my little Logan was going to have to be in daycare. With me not working I wasn’t sure how I was possibly going to be able to afford such a thing. I spent hours researching different daycare centers. The average cost of daycare for a toddler was well over $400 where we lived. I was at the beginning of my single parenting journey; there was no possible way for me to pay that kind of money, so I started asking around. Finally, I found a woman around the corner from my aunt who was about half the price. I was relieved. It was still a huge chunk of money for me, but manageable under the circumstances
As time went on I started to feel more and more uncomfortable about the situation. Logan was coming home with scratches all over him and things just weren’t adding up; come to find out he was getting beat up by another little boy at daycare. I became increasingly worried about the situation and was displeased at the way things were being handled at the daycare and I was quickly running out of money. It was about this time that my mother met a young woman who happened to work in the daycare at the university I was attending. I was unaware that there was even a daycare available there, let alone one that gave preference to single mothers and that had tuition on a sliding scale. Just when I needed it most someone was placed in my life to make it happen.
As single parents we could focus on all of the negative things that happen in our day to day lives. We have a fair amount of struggles; but if we choose to focus on the tender little mercies our lives become so much more fulfilling. Life is too short to look at all of the bad; look for that silver lining instead. Things have a funny way of working themselves out; you just have to give them the chance.