“Doing the tough things sets winners apart from losers.” ~Stephen Richards

Single Parenting Is Crazy… 

I woke up this morning feeling tired.. honestly.. felt like taking a nap, even though I just woke up.

Last night I had a moment where I felt stretched… (I never use the word ‘overwhelmed’ as my mentor has banned it) so I  will say stretched.. lol

Yesterday my baby girl stated Girl Scouts. She is so excited about this experience.  As the girls were working on their first badge as Brownies.. the moms were sitting at a table getting to know each other.

We all live in the same area.. yet live different lives.. yet not all that different.  At the end of the day we are parenting.  I knew on of the moms already and she is newly divorced and is now discovering how single parenting can be a little crazy.

While us moms were at the table talking the Troop leader came over and mentioned some areas that she would need help.. one area being that she needed a cookie mom.  Now I was the cookie mom for 3 years for my older daughters troop when she did Girl Scouts.  And honestly I’ve enjoyed the break.  Really had not desire to go back to being about that life at all.. lol..

Yet once I heard the conversation around me.. I realized I would be doing my youngest daughter a disservice if I did not step up.  Yet while stepping up I said, “I’m a single mom, so I will need help”.. It slipped out of my mouth so smoothly.. almost like an excuse.. or something.. follow me now.. it’s getting ready to get real..

The Negative Effects Of Single Parenting Depend On How You Look At It! 

I really didn’t realize what I had said.. until we were walking into the building and one of the other moms asked me how many kids I had.. I told her 2.. my oldest was in the car as I had just picked her up from Cheerleading prior to bringing Chloe to Brownies.  The other mom explained how she had one and that she was a single mom as well.  She paused.. and looked at me..

I could tell she wanted to ask me something.. yet I patiently waited for her to let it out.. I felt like I was about to hear about some single parenting issues, as she was looking at me with a very serious look on her face.  You know that feeling you get when you don’t really know a person and they give you that look.. like they are getting ready to unload.. so you prepare yourself.. shoulders go back a little.. chin raises just a tab… you take a deep breath in.. and then… out.. and…

Finally she says, “How do you find the time to do all of this as a single mom?”

I relax a little.. I know the answer to that one.. lol.. “I’m a stay at home single mom, I make a living on the internet”.  I quickly ask… “What do you do?”

She replies with where she works.. and how many hours she works..and how it is HARD!

At this moment one would think I would go right into how she can be about this life… yet I noticed her body posture, the look in her eyes.. the feeling of confusion.

One thing I know is when single parenting leads to that confused feeling of being stuck and not understanding how to change it.. that offering her “This Life” was not in the cards.. at the moment.  (Key: The hard sale rarely works.. if you have a passion to see a person succeed)

 

The Key To Successful Single Parenting

 After looking over a few single parenting articles.. I realized that I can really only tell you the key to successful single parenting.. check it out..

Assignment:

1. Incorporate this technique into your life.
2. Write out the Vision you have for your child/children.
3. Comment on this post with the results of how you are implementing successful single parenting.

 

Keep Smiling,

Shalonda Gordon

Successful single parenting is simply once you have the key.