Single Motherhood

As a young girl who was obsessed with Barbies and playing house, I knew how much I wanted to be a Mother one day.  As a teenager moving into young adulthood as a total girlie girl, I not only wanted to be a Mother but I wanted to have a little girl.  I graduated from nursing school and lived the single life...wahoo, was that a great experience!  By the time I reached my late 20s and having just returned from my 10-year high school reunion, I realized it was time to settle down.  I took one last travel nurse assignment to Austin where I met the father of my one and only child.

Struggling to let go

Every day is a struggle.  Especially being a single mom with a teenage boy.  I have always tried not to smother him or turn him into a “momma’s boy.”  Ever since he was little I have encouraged him to be independent and strong.

Several years ago I divorced, and so began for my son, at the time age 12, the every other week plane trips to visit his dad in San Antonio.  I was not surprised when I took him to the airport for the first time and I was going over the list; gate number, flight number, time…then he said it: "Just drop me at the curb, I can do this myself.”

Empty Nest Syndrome

I’m a Single Mom!

How many times have we heard that term used? Raising your children with minimal support is difficult whether you’re a single mom or dad. I was a single mom working as a registered nurse and each day was challenging. Some days it was overwhelming trying to juggle my work schedule with car pool, after school activities, homework assignment, and projects. The list can go on and on. Finding down time for yourself was not easy back then.

Lookin' for love

My son and I had a discussion about how a man should treat his wife the other day, and it seemed to suck the air right out of my lungs. I tried to explain, but frankly, we all know that to learn how to have a relationship, to learn how a husband should treat a wife, you really need to see it. Not just on TV, not just once a week with your grandparents, not by watching the neighbors, but by living it. And therein lies the dilemma for single moms. My kid just isn’t seeing it.

It’s enough to make me want to find a photo from 10 years and 10 pounds ago, think up some amazing hobbies and post myself online.

Financial futility

With all the talk of the debt ceiling, the deficit and heart-stopping  days on the stock market, I thought I’d share with you the startling realization I have come to regarding myself as a mom trying to teach her son about money.

I am fiscally conservative. I am not in debt. I believe in only spending money that you have (radical – I know). I believe in buying a house that you can afford. I believe in working hard, pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, taking responsibility for your actions and capitalism.

When I espouse these beliefs to my son, he nods dutifully in agreement. He understands trickle down economics, why we don’t like taxes and why his single mommy has to work - hard. I have always felt that I have done a good job infusing him with my conservative views regarding money and spending.

Wreaking Havoc

Don’t you just hate those awkward positions your kids put you in? There’s the classic “hey, he’s fat” comment to the overweight man. Or the “why can’t that lady walk?” question about the woman in the wheelchair.

As they get older the stakes get higher. There’s the baseball that breaks the neighbor’s window. Or the shove that results in the other child (who really wasn’t being very nice) needing stitches.

These situations are just not easy to handle. How much do you apologize for your child’s mistake? How much do you PAY for your child’s actions – especially if it was just an accident?

Well, I’ve got a doozy for you.

My brain cells are shrinking

My brain cells are apparently shrinking. You see, I am the mother of a pre-teen – an eleven-almost-twelve year old. All you moms out there with your fun and enthusiastic eight- and nine-year-old boys enjoy. Admit it. You’ve been coasting since they were about four. You have all the answers, you are easily loved, the thought of you being any kind of embarrassment never even crosses their mind.

Well get ready.

Hoarder's Heaven

My 11-year-old son has reveled this past week in what I can only describe for him as hoarders’ heaven. No school due to snow/ice + Super Bowl in Dallas + NFL Experience event = Free football cards! And more importantly, the holy grail of his penchant for collecting, FREE AUTOGRAPHS. I’ll begin with this photo to give you an understanding of our obsession with football cards:

Great for kid, not so great for Mom

Do you ever have those moments when you discover that those things you thought were so great as a kid were really a pain for your parents? Snuggling in their bed for a special night’s sleep, playing horsey with your dad, watching a Scooby-Doo marathon with mom, going to Chuckie Cheese. While you thought everyone was enjoying it, your parents were actually plotting when they could escape for a strong drink.

Help a single mom this Christmas

This is my unabashed plea for you to help out a single mom this Christmas. These are my people, and frankly, we need you to get through the holidays. Not until I went through my divorce did I realize that Christmas is not merry for many people. Rather, there is a vast, wounded group of people for whom the holidays are a piercing reminder that their lives have not turned out how they wanted them to be.  At all.

For single moms, we have the strange reality of every other Christmas kind of being how we’d hoped, but not really. For the years that we have our kids, we smile and do all we can to make it a happy time for our kids. But, staying up half the night putting together the toys by yourself and then watching your kids open the gifts the next morning by yourself still isn’t what you had planned.

The BEST PET EVER for your kids

By Laura Johnson

The pleading began at about age four. “Mommy, can we get a dog?” “Mommy, I NEED a dog!” “Mommy, everybody has a dog but me.” “Mommy, if I don’t get a dog, I’ll never move out of the house and will spend the rest of my days lying on the couch watching mindless reality shows and drinking all of your Diet Cokes.”

The boy does know my hot buttons.

My son, the equalizer

Laura and Cole

I recently had one of those "equalizing" kind of days. Let me explain.

I had a meeting Monday morning with a co-worker I’d never met before.

Well, we began discussing kids, and she says I look way too young to have an 11-year-old. I dare to say "Well, I'm 42." She says I really don't look 42. Apologies to any of my good friends who are reading this blog, but I now have a new BEST FRIEND. I have decided that I love her.

A thief in the night

So I'm trying to shut down the house for the night last night, and I open my house door into the garage. Right there at my feet is the biggest ARMADILLO I've ever seen! In my garage.