Hello, awesome readers.
It’s been a crazy, wonderful week. I’m speaking with single mothers who are sharing their stories with me and I feel so privileged to be connecting with such strong-minded, persevering women, that I can only refer to them as SUPERWOMEN. They truly reflect the title of the book I’m interviewing them for.
As solo-parents, many of the challenges that they – we – experience are the same. The overwhelming voice that asks, “why do I even bother?” (What? I have to cook supper AGAIN? … Didn’t I just wash this???) The constant need to be reminded that we really are doing our best. (Go AWAY, guilt.) The torn sense of duty when your child is sick and your boss needs you in the office. (*sigh*)
Yet the stories themselves are all so very different. To be brutally honest, I am in awe. This week’s interviews have been by phone with women across the United States. And even though we’re strangers during the opening “hellos” of our conversations, by the time we hang up I realize that I’ve made a new friend. I call it the sisterhood of our many roles, tasks, challenges, and concerns.
Sometimes I get off these calls and I feel truly humbled. Other times, my heart is broken. Either way, one thing is for sure: the stories that I look forward to sharing with you, dear readers, NEED TO BE TOLD.
Stories of women who get pregnant at 17 and through it all still manage to work their way to earning their degrees.
Stories of abuse and pregnancy through the “r” word. (Lower-case on purpose.)
Stories of women who manage to find themselves despite the crushing chaos of their to-do lists.
All intertwined with my own story, which now seems overshadowed by the magnitude of just how alone single mothers often feel. Admittedly, older now (although not always wiser), I’m not in the same place as many of the women I’m speaking with. Another reason why I need to write this book. I remember only too well.
I’m not naïve, yet …
I wish that I could hug away the paralyzing anxieties that keep the struggling single mom staring into the dark at night.
I wish that I could feed her confidence and support until those anxieties begin to die.
I wish I could breathe life into her forgotten potential.
And as one woman I spoke with this week so eloquently answered when I asked her what advice she would give to other young, single mothers:
“I would encourage them to not give up. To still dream and know that her life isn’t over.”
My hope with this book is to address the single mother’s concerns and remind her that she’s not alone. I also hope to perhaps even shed a positive spin on the important areas of her life, including that damn guilt, the phases of parenting, and why putting tennis socks in your bra is never a good idea.
If you’re a single mom and want to share your story, I’d love to hear from you. Please click on over to the contact page. Let me know where you are on this big, wonderful globe of ours, and include your email. (I promise not to share it.)
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