Yesterday I asked the question if there was a difference between Only and Single when it came to parenting. In other words if your spouse takes care of the family financially and you do everything else is it fair to compare yourself to a single parent, even though you never have to worry about contributing a dime to the family finances.
The responses I got, although only a few, seemed to run the gamut, but the one that got me thinking was what my good friend Blissmum had to say:
Luke works hard. He works long hours and he brings in a good portion of our income. I know that I am incredibly lucky. Not only does Luke provide financially for our little family he also does things around the house. Besides nightly dishes, and taking out the trash he is also very involved in taking care of my daughter. The minute he walks in the door from work he hands himself over to Monkey as a play gym, a story reader, block tower builder, silly face artist or whatever other activity Monkey is in the mood for. He also tucks her in every single night. Every. Single. Night.
So yes when he is gone I feel it, and Monkey feels it. A big chunk of our day is missing. When he is home I think I do take for granted that he is there to be by my side on the good days and the tough ones too. Ans honestly I think that is where the biggest challenge comes from when he is gone. When I read Blissmum’s comment I realized that I had missed a big point yesterday. Single parent’s do not only have to care for their children on their own but they also have to care for themselves on their own.
Lesson learned: I am lucky. I know that. Could I be a single mom? If it came down to it, but I can’t imagine going along on this journey on my own, without my partner, my best friend, and my teammate. I am glad that single parent is not one of my many titles, for more reasons than one.
