ATribute to Single Mothers
My daughters have been over to spend a few days this past week with my grandchildren. It is always such a joy to have time with them, but it also reminds me how much work their little darlings can be.
Both of my daughters are single mothers which is an incredible responsibility. Most of us have a single mom in the family, or we know someone who is in this role. What we tend to overlook or forget is how difficult this can be. Although mothers are usually the ones that do the majority of child rearing and discipline, when there is a father in the home there is someone else there to back you up and support your decisions. They are there to help with the everyday tasks and to give mothers a much needed break.
When you are the one who is solely responsible for the daily care of your child it can be overwhelming at times. You are the one who wakes them each morning and tries to get them ready for the day while you are also trying to prepare yourself for work. Hoping that your day, and theirs, will start off on a happy note. You work full-time and need to in order to support your children, yet if they are sick it is left to you to either stay home or make arrangements to pick them up and leave them with a family member (if you are lucky to have one available) or with a sitter. At the end of your long day of work you pick up your child (or children) and go home to prepare dinner. You clean up from dinner and make sure that they do any homework they brought home. You bathe them, read them a story and hope they will go to sleep and not give you a fight. Even though you are exhausted you do laundry and all the other things that need to be done before you fall into bed. If you are lucky they will sleep through the night and you might get 5 -6 hours of sleep.
You will stay awake with them and worry when they are ill, kiss their cuts and bruises, and take them to any doctor appointments. You will try to make sure they are involved in healthy activities, and play with them when you can get a free weekend to do so. You will put a roof over their head, clothe them and feed them.
You will try to keep your patience with them even when they are being extremely difficult, and beat yourself up if you cannot. Wishing you could take back the angry words that you could not hold back at the moment, for the truth is you love them more than they will ever be able to comprehend. They own your heart and soul.
So....these are the things I remind myself of when I think that my daughters may have lost their patience too quickly. I remind myself that I had their father to back me up, and that made a world of difference when I was raising them.
When I think of all of these things, I am very proud of the wonderful young women and mothers my daughters have become.
Both of my daughters are single mothers which is an incredible responsibility. Most of us have a single mom in the family, or we know someone who is in this role. What we tend to overlook or forget is how difficult this can be. Although mothers are usually the ones that do the majority of child rearing and discipline, when there is a father in the home there is someone else there to back you up and support your decisions. They are there to help with the everyday tasks and to give mothers a much needed break.
When you are the one who is solely responsible for the daily care of your child it can be overwhelming at times. You are the one who wakes them each morning and tries to get them ready for the day while you are also trying to prepare yourself for work. Hoping that your day, and theirs, will start off on a happy note. You work full-time and need to in order to support your children, yet if they are sick it is left to you to either stay home or make arrangements to pick them up and leave them with a family member (if you are lucky to have one available) or with a sitter. At the end of your long day of work you pick up your child (or children) and go home to prepare dinner. You clean up from dinner and make sure that they do any homework they brought home. You bathe them, read them a story and hope they will go to sleep and not give you a fight. Even though you are exhausted you do laundry and all the other things that need to be done before you fall into bed. If you are lucky they will sleep through the night and you might get 5 -6 hours of sleep.
You will stay awake with them and worry when they are ill, kiss their cuts and bruises, and take them to any doctor appointments. You will try to make sure they are involved in healthy activities, and play with them when you can get a free weekend to do so. You will put a roof over their head, clothe them and feed them.
You will try to keep your patience with them even when they are being extremely difficult, and beat yourself up if you cannot. Wishing you could take back the angry words that you could not hold back at the moment, for the truth is you love them more than they will ever be able to comprehend. They own your heart and soul.
So....these are the things I remind myself of when I think that my daughters may have lost their patience too quickly. I remind myself that I had their father to back me up, and that made a world of difference when I was raising them.
When I think of all of these things, I am very proud of the wonderful young women and mothers my daughters have become.
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