In honor of International Women’s History Month, I felt it was only right to spend some time discussing my experience being raised by a single mother. Single moms are rockstars, there’s no doubt about that. However, the older I get the more respect and admiration I have for my mom. I think a lot of us forget just how difficult and time-consuming it is to care for children. I mean think about it, from the minute you wake up to the moment you lay your child down at night, you are fully responsible for their ability to function and breathe. There are baths, diapers, eating schedules, naptimes, and so much more that have to be carefully balanced. But it doesn’t stop after a certain age, the ways in which help is needed just changed. As you grow your problems change, but the workload in solving them does not. The teen years turned my mom into a therapist, and I look back and realize how that was probably just as hard as caring for a legit infant. Sure, they sign up for this, but it does not mean they don’t deserve immense amounts of credit. Single moms are problem solvers out of necessity, not only do they have their own problems, but they became the sole fixer of their children’s problems. In my experience, my Mom put my issues before hers and didn’t even think twice about them.
As I get older, I begin to understand the way that being raised by a single mother has shaped who I am. I have a sense of independence that I think comes from seeing a solo woman be so incredibly strong and resilient. I think my perception of men is dramatically different as well because I grew up without having to rely on any man. I am confident in being a brave woman because one of my only role models is a brave woman. Growing up, I definitely asked myself why I didn’t have a “normal” family with two parents and a nice house with a green lawn and white picket fence. However, with every year that passes by, I realize how my experiences have created the girl that’s writing this story today. My mother has broken gender molds too, she’s the one responsible for teaching me how to jump my car, change tires, etc. On the flip side, we can have brunch together and gossip for hours. I’ve realized the superpower of single moms is their ability to somehow do it all.
Moral of the story, women rock. But we already knew that. I chose to talk about this because I know a lot of you can probably relate, but I also know there’s a lot of people out there who have not realized the way your single mom shapes who you are in the best way possible. So with that, I’m signing off for now. Go hug your mom, regardless if she’s single or not, and just tell her she’s doing great. She probably needs it more than you think.
