Is It Any Wonder? - By Anonymous
It wasn’t easy being a single mom and raising my kids alone. And I mean alone. I had no family near enough and I worked all the time, so my social circle was pretty much nonexistent, and their father was MIA. Some say I “chose” to be a single mom, but what I chose was not to raise my children in a toxic environment. “Single parent” is thrown around these days without a second thought. It has become so common place that it no longer carries any weight, or elicits an emotional reaction, or garners empathy or compassion. Honestly, I would settle for disappointment even. And that makes me sad. Being a single parent and sole provider is the toughest job on the planet but the resources to provide a better life just aren’t keeping up with the number of parents out there doing it alone.
My kids are older now but when someone asks me “how did you do it?” I do not have an answer. Single parents just get things done. There is no time to stop and think about how we just “do”. And the child care desert in our area hampers every bit of effort we put into it, especially if you live rurally. Not only was my commute to a job that much further, but when you must drive nearly 15 miles in the opposite direction in rush hour to get to (unaffordable) child care early enough to get to work on time, let alone the kids fed and dressed and ready to go extra early in the morning, is it any wonder why I needed therapy, too?
The services my family needs most are child care closer to home and mental health services.
