As single mothers we sometimes try to do it all. We’re working to support a family on our own while trying to be the nurturers we were meant to be. We run our children to their activities, make dinner, clean the house, do the laundry, and still manage to get up and do it all again the next morning without the help of a significant other. We want to be able to provide our children all the benefits they would have if we were a stay-at-home-mother, even though that is no longer possible. In short, we try to be superwoman even when doing so leaves us so burned out that we can barely get up in the mornings.
While it is okay to want to provide your children with all of the benefits of a two parent home, it simply isn’t possible on your own. You have to make sacrifices every now and then. Choose to focus on one thing at a time. If you have to throw a frozen dinner in the oven just so you can get the ironing done tonight that’s okay. Give your kids a nice home-cooked meal tomorrow instead. If it means leaving the dishes in the sink so that you can help your son get his math homework done, then so be it. They’ll still be there tomorrow. The nice thing about dishes is they’re patient. They won’t mind sitting in the sink for a day. Your kids on the other hand might not be as patient for their mommy time. They need you around to make them feel special and sometimes that means sacrificing a few things here and there.
Remember that you can’t be perfect at everything. Try as you may, it’s just not going to happen. Take each day as it comes, tackle one thing at a time, and be the best mother you can be. Beyond that nothing else really matters.