The Life of a Single Parent

The life of a single parent is not as glamorous as you may have seen on TV. There is a lot of ups and downs on the roller coaster that is known as being a single mother. I have learned about the role of the single mother the hard way. Two years ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Her father turned his back on us before she was even born. This gave me a crash course in motherhood and being a single parent.

I always thought of the time that I would have my first child as one that I would share with a partner. Of course, life does not always workout the way that you plan. Whether you are a single mom from the time you are pregnant or if you make the split farther into your child's life, there are many struggles that you will have to face as I did.

One of the hardest parts of being a single mom is trying to be there for my daughter and making enough money to take care of both of us. I do not get child support from her father so we live on what I make. I changed careers shortly after my daughter was born so that I would be able to be home nights and weekends with her. I had to take a drastic cut in pay to get the better hours that I wanted, Because of this cut in pay, I needed to move in with family members to make ends meet.

About a year ago, I stumbled across freelance writing and it became the best way to make money and be the best single mother that I could be. It was the one job that I could do after my daughter went to bed. She would never have to be without her mother because I had to get a second job.

Through out my struggles as a single mom to give my daughter everything that she needs, I put a priority in being able to watch her grow. I found that this was one of the hardest pieces of the puzzle that I could juggle as a single mom. I have succeeded in finally realizing my dream of moving out on our own and still be able not to miss out on the joys of being a mother.