I was raised by a single mum, and I’ve been a single mum myself, before I remarried. And some of my best friends are single mums. It always strikes me as odd that in 2016, some people still have a predisposed idea of what single mums are like – and it’s often not a flattering picture.
The fact is, single mums have skills that the rest of us can only dream of.
They can prioritise
There is nothing like being a lone parent to help you decide what’s important and what’s not. You have one set of hands and 24 hours in your day to get everything done that needs doing. Important things go to the top of the list, unimportant things fall by the wayside. There’s no time to waste time and there’s no point in worrying about stuff that doesn’t matter.
They can multitask
I’ll often call one single mum friend in the late afternoon, when she’s helping her son with his homework, cooking dinner, and prepping lunchboxes for the next day. And she still can still carry on a reasonable conversation with me and somehow get the cat fed at the same time.
They know how to take care of everything
When I was growing up, I thought my mum was Superwoman (I actually still do). There wasn’t anything she couldn’t take care of. Leaky taps, broken mowers, a football through a plate glass window, a broken heart…she knew how to fix it all. I asked her about this recently and she just shrugged her shoulders, “I just had to,” she said. “Who else was going to do it?”
They don’t need your approval
The buck stops with single mums. They make the calls and that’s that. What’s the point of agonising over decisions, or seeking the approval of others that they’re doing the right thing?
They know their kids well and they rock the awkward conversations
Single mums tend to be super close with their kids. They have lots of one-on-one time together, and there are a lot more deep and meaningful conversations going on. And because they can’t palm off any of the tough conversations, they have got all the awkward stuff covered too. My poor mum had to talk my brother through puberty. I don’t even want to know how that went.
They’re great role models
Resilient, adaptable, loving, tough, and organised – single mums set a great example for their kids. They know life doesn’t always go according to plan, but they make the best of what they’ve got going on. Who couldn’t learn something from that?
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