How difficult is of is being a single parent?
When my girls were four and five I became a single parent. I had no idea what was ahead of me, the difficulties I would face. I was single for 14 years, through their teenage years. The most difficult part of being a single parent for me was the lack of support. Their father barely took them and the grandparents weren’t available as well. I depended on babysitters for when I was at work or for any social life.
I mentor a few single moms and have such compassion for their situation. Even though the two moms that I mentor have participating exes, it is still a stressful situation. When all the responsibilities fall mainly on one person and they still have to work, and take care of the household duties, it can be a lot.
I believe support is the key to not losing your mind while you’re a single parent. If you don’t have an ex or grandparents that are supportive, find outside sources. Maybe there are single parenting groups or another single parent that would trade watching the kids and also be a support system to talk to.
The beautiful part about the two single mothers I talked to is that they are so interested in their self-development to be the best parent they can be. I remember feeling so overwhelmed that it would’ve been nice to have a mentor that totally understood. I believe it’s important as a single parent to make sure you are taking care of yourself physically and spiritually. My biggest Savior while being single was that I was doing my spiritual work.
Doing my spiritual work was a life or death situation. Six months after I became divorced I lost my mother who was my only support system, besides close friends. So for me not doing my spiritual work was not an option. I believe that a lot of single moms could lift some of their stress if they decided to implement a mentor to help them through difficult times.
