How Do They Do It?

I spent yesterday on the couch, doubled over in pain. Apparently, I was the lucky recipient of a stomach virus. Not fun. Since my husband could not take the day off, I was left to fend for myself and my children were left to have the run of the house. Scary. At one point, they came parading out of my room in full drag, right down to my thong underwear. In addition to being grossed out by the thought of my kids’ butt cooties on my undies; I was worried about what else they had gotten into while in my room. The toddlers have a knack for picking the lock on my filing cabinet, where we keep all of our important documents. I also keep all of my makeup in a drawer that is easily accessible to Ella, who loves to put on mommy’s eye shadow. I know that I locked my bedroom door, but one of them must have found the key.

So there I was, lying on the couch and pleading/ordering them to get out of my room, when a thought hit me. Single moms have to deal with the lack of a partner all the time. At least I knew that my husband would be home to relieve me of my stress and clean up the mess. What do single moms do? How do they deal with being sick, hurt or needing to visit a doctor? Who picks up their slack? Who acts as the disciplinarian when they are incapacitated? I’m sure that some of them have a support system, like family members or friends, but not all of them do. After spending the day watching my kids destroy our house, I have an even greater appreciation for single moms and the trials that they face!