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Growing up with a single, working mother of four children brought both good times and bad times. Sometimes Mom would come home happy to play with you, and other times she was ready to go to bed and didn’t want to deal with your nonsense. However, throughout the years, I have realized how lucky I am to have such an inspiration in my life. I never realized how tiring working a nine hour day was until I had to experience it for myself. Even then, I wasn’t appreciative. Working nine hours, so what? Yet when you are a mother, there is no “clocking out.” Once the work day is over, it’s time to go home, do chores, make dinner, help with homework and all the things that a mother does. Children don’t realize how stressful it is.
There were definitely pros and cons to growing up with a single mother, but the pros outweigh the cons by a landslide in my books. I learned to be more patient with others because there are only so many hours in a day with a millions things to do. I realized that I am an independent girl who can do anything that I put my mind too. I broke stereotypes like working in a hardware store, knowing how to jumpstart my car (which came in handy multiple times), and having a lot of knowledge of things that are normally “male jobs.” Living partially on my own now, I embrace these valuable lessons that my mother taught me because without them, I would feel useless. I wouldn’t be as self-sufficient as I am now. To be honest, it was easier learning from my mom because she made everything easy to understand and also offered an easier way to do something. Men ALWAYS try to do things the hard way.
This might all sound very feministic or pro-single parenting but that isn’t the case. There were tons of men in my life that helped me. For example, I had support from my brothers, my uncles, and even people within the town. Customers that shopped at our hardware store often kept an eye out for me and taught me life lessons along the way too. Everyone needs a male figure in their life and I was lucky enough to have more than one. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that’s exactly what happened.
Looking back now, I realize that I should be more grateful for what my Mom was able to provide for me and doing so all by herself. She didn’t ask for any help, even though when it was given, she deeply appreciated it. So this isn’t an article bashing dead-beat fathers or even men, but a thank you to all the single mothers out there. No one ever said it would be easy, but thank you for pushing forward and raising the beautiful minds among us.