by mssinglemama on June 28, 2009
While the rest of the world continues to spin, with all of its good news and bad, there is one little universe that remains unchanged.
The universe of Benjamin, where he must - by now - have realized that he’s kind of cute.
He’s also learning how to play the adults in his life like a fiddle.
With just one pout of those puffy little lips, or one convincing, “newdea” - translation, “new idea” - he can enrapture you with his seemingly true tales of life as a three-year-old.
Somewhere along the road he used this little face to convince his mommy that “daddy said it was okay to pee pee in his diaper” and vice versa. [click to continue…]
by mssinglemama on June 18, 2009
I have three brothers and two sisters.
You would think I’ve seen it all but I haven’t. Nope. Like this…
This thing Benjamin does when the mood strikes, or when we have a far distance to walk to in a rush. In this case we were dashing to a bush to so he could pee because the church was all locked and there were people praying very loudly in a room near the other bathroom.
So back to the thing. [click to continue…]
by mssinglemama on June 16, 2009
Big things, I tell ya, big things.
I can’t even begin to thank you all enough. Really. Your passion for my little life is quite extraordinary, and as more and more readers join us (many of them not even single moms) I’m thinking that this blog is transforming into a story for everyone.
Something I’ve come to realize over the past few months is that Ms. Single Mama isn’t me - she is each of you - all of the single moms who have inspired me to write my thoughts here.
She is every single woman.
She is every single mother.
She, or he, is every person who wants to find themselves and follow their own path.
But she also has a desire to change and to grow and above all, to make the best of her situation no matter how awful it can be. As this blog continues to transform I want to make sure the single moms, my single moms, have a place to find each other so I’m launching a single moms forum.
All of the credit goes to John Bear though. He suggested I have a forum, I resisted, he suggested again and then again until finally I said, “okay, let’s try it.”
Then he made it… in just one night, just for us.
And guess what I have realized? [click to continue…]
by mssinglemama on June 14, 2009
Seeing yourself on the front page of the local Sunday paper’s business section is nice.
Definitely. Very nice.
But seeing this
is even nicer.
He has no idea what he’s in for… more pictures from this weekend are in this album, scroll down for the most recent.
[Sorry I've been scant. Cooking up a few very exciting things for you.]
by mssinglemama on June 7, 2009
On Saturday morning John Bear (he now has a first name) and I headed up north to Cleveland for his cousin’s wedding. Between meeting his entire family and the ceremony we took a drive and made a few pit stops along the way.
The first to snap a shot of this
and the second to pick up a wedding card at this place, with a giant robot outside
and tons of memories inside.
Big Fun. Check the place out if you’re ever in Cleveland.
I could have spent the entire day in there, staring at those toys and remembering what it was like to be that young, that innocent. But when I look into his eyes I do feel completely young again, new almost. Like I’m starting over on a clean white sandy beach with not a soul in sight but his and Benjamin’s.
There’s a peace in finding this kind of a connection - a peace I may have lost hope of ever finding. But now it’s here and the only thing we can do is enjoy every moment.
After wishing we were 8 again, we headed to the reception pre-party at John Bear’s uncle Mark’s. [click to continue…]
by mssinglemama on June 5, 2009
I looked up at my little sister. I had my wedding dress bunched up around my thighs and I was squatting on the toilet in my aunt’s house.
“Don’t ever do this,” I said.
Getting married, the actual wedding part, was painful for me.
Maybe it was because I was marrying the wrong man or maybe it’s because I planned my wedding in three days (a must to meet my French Canadian boyfriend’s expiration date for his time in the US.)
I was only 25-years-old. One year later I would be pregnant at just 26-years-old and wishing I had never done what I was about to do.
“Ever,” I said sternly.
She looked at me with her mouth gaping and nodded. [click to continue…]
by mssinglemama on June 3, 2009
My first few days at my new job have been spectacular.
On day one, I met up with some of you for a play date. Between chatting about dating, love and all of that other stuff only single moms truly understand I hand delivered some of your necklaces and watched as you delicately wrapped them around your necks.
What once was a vision, now a reality.
[That's Jen by the way. Read her blog here. You'll be very glad you did - she is an amazing writer and such a strong single mom. I just can't believe we live about four blocks from each other.]
The next day I took Benjamin for a long over due hair cut. [click to continue…]
by mssinglemama on June 1, 2009
Larry is in his seventies but his eyes are young.
He had a major hand in creating the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway, a thriving tourist destination for Athens County and his energy seems to be endless. He’ll never acknowledge his age with words or by his actions and I find this amazing and inspiring.
We’ve just wrapped up a meeting and now we’re saying our good byes in the doorway to the Athens County Visitors Bureau. The Bureau is my refuge and my savior. My home town, I feel, is cradling me - rocking me back to health and in turn I am enlightening thousands of tourists to pay us a visit.
Larry is lingering.
“So have you found a nice guy yet?” he asks.
Every time I meet a WWII vet like Larry I immediately conjure up images of men like Gregory Peck and Spencer Tracy on battle lines or at fancy dinner tables puffing on cigarettes, he is no exception.
“No, not yet. There aren’t any around or something, or maybe I just don’t know where to look or maybe I’m not ready,” my voice cracks a bit.
The tears have been coming easily lately.
It’s been nine months of single motherhood and I have yet to see a glimmer of hope, even though I’ve been dating not one man has shown promise of being something.
I want to hear words of wisdom from Larry, so I stop, look down at my shuffling feet and then I listen. [click to continue…]
by mssinglemama on May 31, 2009
This morning I woke up before Benjamin, wondering…
The sun light fell on my face, peeking through my dark bamboo blinds - my blinds in my room. I enjoyed the silence and basked in the thought that tomorrow I would be reporting to myself, no one else. Then I wondered how I got here. I am not unique. I am not special. I may be driven and tireless but each of us has this power - the power to change our circumstances or surroundings if we set our mind in that direction.
Just two years ago I was plotting an escape from my marriage, not knowing if or when I’d have my own bedroom again. Leaving my husband took guts - some say - but to me it just seemed like a survival mechanism. That’s exactly how I feel now. There are things happening out there in this big vast space we call the World Wide Web and sometimes you can move through those waters faster solo. And besides… [click to continue…]
by mssinglemama on May 31, 2009
There are few things in life that really upset me.
If you’ve been reading my blog for these past (nearly) two years you’ll notice that I rarely complain about anything. It’s just not my style. I also feel that, despite being a single mom, I have it pretty damn good.
But this is something I couldn’t let slide.
Benjamin is potty training.
His bowel movements now control my every waking moment especially when we are out and away from the comfort of our own potty. Outside of my short time in Texas and my post-separation year at Mom’s, I have been living in Grandview, a small and deliciously sweet oasis in Columbus since graduating college.
Over the course of the past 8 years I have always shopped at the two local grocery stores - one being the Kroger on Chambers. I couldn’t begin to guess how much money I’ve actually spent there but I’m sure it’s over $10,000. And in all of that time I’ve never had to use their restroom. [click to continue…]
