Hi everyone. I really need some encouragmement. Especially from other single mums out there like myself. I'm stuck in a rut. That rut being I'm kicking myself whilst I'm already down. I'm in the "why me" stage of being a single mum (even though I have been a single mum for many years). I'm just literally exhausted with and overwhelmed with doing it literally by myself. Day in. Day out. No break whatsoever (the dad has nothing to do with them and that's his choice I suppose). I'm trying to keep myself occupied to keep my mind off it all. I study full time. But reality is apart from Facebook I don't really have any friends. I have one family member that could babysit but that family member has their own life and I constantly feel guilty and overwhelmed if I do need them to babysit (if I need to go to things to do with my studies which is only once every couple of months as I study online). I have my days where I feel ok and I think to myself that I'm strong and I can do this and then some days I'll wake up and I'll be so overwhelmed with it all that I just want to run away from it all.
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I have been a single mum (to a severely disabled man) since his birth 21 years ago.
Yes it can be annoying when you have to do everything yourself but here's what helped me. Making sure my kid pulled and still pulls his weight. Part of being in a family is participating in running that family wether you are 2, or 21. Everyone does what they can. So although I'm the one who pays the bills and mows the lawn my kid has his own jobs, always has. The only time he hasn't is when he is too sick to get out of bed or in hospital.
He has done his own washing since he was 12, he has been emptying a dishwasher since he was 6. He has been setting a table since he was 4 and putting his dishes in the sink since he was 3. Now I'm not saying it's perfect but it certainly goes a long way to a feeling of a team rather than me doing it all and feeling like a victim. Because I'm not a victim, in a rocking it, ass kicking single mum, and part of my job is teaching my kid to look after himself and how to work as a team and how to have a good work ethic.