It was one of those mornings. They seem to happen much more frequently as a single parent than they did when I was married. I am in the middle of my college finals this week. This is stressful in and of itself; then you add a three year old in the mix and things get slightly more stressful (ever tried studying with a three year old?); to top things off you’re doing it on your own, there’s no one there to give you a 20 minute study break, you simply learn to multi-task like a mad woman. As if this wasn’t enough stress, I woke up to find that my final had been moved an hour earlier than our usual class time, which meant no babysitter. Had I been married, perhaps this wouldn’t have been as big of a deal. My husband could have taken Logan to daycare or picked him up from me at school, but as a single parent I have no such luxury, so Logan took my final with me. Thankfully, I had an understanding professor and lots of friends who reached out during class to help keep him entertained, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t been so lucky.
As single parents we often find ourselves in a bind. Things come up that are out of our control and sometimes we just have to make due. As any single parent knows, this is often easier said than done. Do yourself a favor and start making a plan now. Have a back-up. If something comes up, is there someone you can call to help you out? Who can you turn to in your time of need? It’s ok to ask for help. Having a plan beforehand will save you the added stress when things come up that are out of your control. Do what you can to alleviate some of that stress now, because as all single parents know, things rarely go as planned.