Good things about being a single parent that No One will tell you about. LOL!
I get every other weekend to myself. On facebook one of my friends quoted another woman at the park who said, “yes tomorrow is my day off“ My girlfriend posted “what mommies get a day off?”. I almost didn’t want to post back – because if everyone really understood the magnitude of this benefit, even happily married women might be tempted to race to the lawyer’s office. Until I started sharing custody of my daughter, I never knew the bliss of an uninterrupted afternoon — never mind a whole weekend — alone in my townhouse. Just imagine: every other weekend on your own, in your own house. If you clean, it stays clean. Nothing moves that hasn’t been moved by you. You don’t have to cook. You don’t even have to get out of bed if you don’t want to — except, of course, to replenish that supply of potatoe chips and chocolate and maybe even a glass of wine while watching a drama filled movie.
The kids are all right. Contrary to the predictions of some know-it-alls, I have two adult children who make a good living and are not out stealing hubcaps, selling crack cocaine, or joining a cult as far as I know and I have a nine year old that is the sweetest most sensitive child that you would ever want to meet.
In fact, I’m guessing that the kids are better off than if they had spent years listening to Mom and Dad exchanging angry words or, worse, putting one another in harms way. I won’t kid you — or myself — by saying the separation or divorce is easy on them, but perhaps the experience has taught them some valuable life lessons.
I’ve noticed kids of single households are more competent, more observant, and kinder than many of their friends who live in two-parent households. One reason for this, I believe, is that they have more responsibility — for themselves, for each other, for the household. They help out with chores and errands. They look out for each other.
My daughter understands when I’m tired. She realizes that if she wants more than the small allowance I award her for doing household chores, she needs to come up with things to EARN extra money. She is always talking to me about having a lemonaid stand or selling her slightly used books on the internet. Maybe I have an entrepreneur already.
So what? I have already come to the conclusion that I am already considered different as all of my friends are married with children. Because of this, I feel I can get away with doing little things like making macaroni and cheese or soup and sandwiches for dinner and sometimes I leave clean towels in the dryer to fold when I have a moment of me time.
Now I am not an advocate of divorce and I’m not saying being a single parent is easy because it certainly is not, but when given lemons, it is time to make lemonaide and that is what I am trying to do by finding benefits in everything these days.
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