Single Parents: Going it Alone is Hard Work. And I've Only Been at it for 60 Hours

I'm halfway through a five-day stint of single parenthood, and I'm cranky, exhausted and in need of a stiff drink.

But I can't pull out the martini shaker just yet. I still need to make dinner for me and my two children (ages 4 and 6), get them in the bathtub, brush teeth, read books, sing songs, rub backs, give good-night kisses, pack a lunch box, clean the kitchen, tidy the living room, throw in a load of laundry and pay a few bills. And only then might I be able to kick back on the couch to watch guilt-free a recorded episode of Desperate Housewives (it better not be a rerun, or I'll be feeling really desperate).

I don't normally deal with the nighttime routine solo. My husband and I typically share child-care tasks in the morning before he heads off to work (okay, he usually gets the kids breakfast) and then again when he comes home in the early evening (okay, so he's most often on bath duty; yes I married well).

But twice a year his job takes him out of state for a five-day trade show. That's when I'm in the trenches alone. And each time he goes away on this business trip. I find myself repeating the same mantra to myself over and over and over again, "I don't know how they do it. I don't know how they do it."

Single parents that is. They rank up there with saints, if you ask me.

For the last two-and-a-half days now, I've been the only adult in the house to wipe snotty noses, wipe dirty bums and wipe the kitchen counter clean. I've played Crazy Eights, Yahtzee, Clue Jr., Aggravation, Piranha Panic, Mr. Mouth and Cariboo--each at least twice. I've built with Legos. I've baked cookies. I've made tie-dyed T-shirts. I've read aloud dozens of books. And I've popped umpteen videos in the VCR.

Did I mention my four-year-old has a raging chest cold that triggers coughing fits lasting up to an hour? And a double ear infection?

Yep, my semi-annual foray into single parenthood wouldn't be so absolutely energy depleting this time around if my kids and I weren't quarantined at home. We're a get-up-and-go type of family: swimming and hiking in the summer, skiing and sledding in the winter. But this weekend we've been housebound.

I can't call in reinforcements for fear of my youngest infecting someone else. I didn't plan ahead and make playdates for my eldest to ship off to someone else's house, because I thought we'd be out and about all weekend long.

So, it's been just the kids and I entertaining each other for about 60 hours now, and I can't help but think of single parents out there who do this very, very difficult job for hours, days, weeks and months on end. And I don't work outside the home.

I truly don't understand how single parents can maintain their sanity while raising children, running a household AND holding down a 9 to 5 job. That goes for military wives, too. Or any other parent whose spouse's career takes them out of town regularly. For single parents who don't have family nearby to step in when the going gets rough, I'm sure that feeling of isolation is only exacerbated when they just can't get the breaks they need from being a mom or dad.

So, my hat's off to you. In fact, as soon as I'm done with all of my evening chores, I'll raise a glass to you in solidarity, even if it's only temporary. I have just (just!) 60 hours left of single parenthood this go-around. But who's counting?