Posts tagged as:

Divorce

Will our kids be worse off?

March 20, 2008

There’s a very interesting comment thread going on in an old post I wrote on how much I love being a single mom….

It’s a fantastic discussion between Dad’s House and another single father, Jim. They’re debating on whether or not our children, the children of single parents are essentially worse off because they’re being raised by single parents….

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The Ex Factor

March 19, 2008

You rarely hear mention of him on my blog. Maybe because it usually breaks my heart to write about it. Maybe because I don’t want Benjamin to read this someday and think his father’s a lousy (enter superlative of your choice here). But now that Benjamin’s two…soon there will be questions which means Mommy needs [...]

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Shared custody…shared toys?

March 17, 2008

I was beaming with pride last night. I bought Benjamin his first Thomas train set for his birthday. After I spent 30 minutes setting the track up perfectly to fit his little bedroom play table, he spent an hour choo chooing the trains around. This morning (like every Monday) his father came to pick him [...]

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Can men feel empathy?

March 3, 2008

My best friend has a theory – that men can not be truly empathetic. And for the men reading this, here’s the definition:

Empathy: one’s ability to recognize, perceive and feel the emotions of another; often characterized as the ability to “put oneself into another’s shoes”.

Take this scenario as a case in point. No hard feelings toward the male subject in this story, after all, he is a man and this is apparantly a trait they can’t help. Just read this study.

Tonight, while in his sweet bath, Benjamin knocked his tooth into the side of the tub. All I hear is – CRACK! – his front capped tooth had just split again. The first time, this winter, he had fallen outside and it was a bloody mess. But this time – the tooth is shattered into three pieces that are somehow sticking together. Benjamin is calm during the bath and all is well. But as soon as we get out. He notices. He takes his little, itty bitty fingers and starts pushing his broken tooth around. He can’t even eat his yogurt snack.

My heart is breaking into a million pieces as I look at my sweet, sweet little guy and imagine the damn pain he’s going to have to feel tomorrow when they have to cap it again.

Tell this story to any woman and you’re bound to get a reaction filled with gasps and lots and lots of questions. All followed by words of comfort like, “don’t worry, everything will be fine,” “is there anything I can do?”, “I’m so sorry this happened.”

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She’s pregnant. Should she tell the father?

March 1, 2008

It’s a question so perplexing they’ve made movies about it … most recently “Knocked Up,” which I think is completely unrealistic. Laughable really. What are the odds that a man who you’re not even in love with would miraculously become your knight in shining armor? If the main character would have ended up alone – would that really have been such a tragic ending? On the contrary, I think it would have been a story of strength. The strength to realize that staying with someone just because you’re pregnant may actually be the wrong one.
Claudia just commented on my “I LOVE Being a Single Mom” post with this question:

“Does anyone on this site have the issue of contemplating whether to tell the father of the baby that you are expecting? I am in that situation right now and am torn whether to tell him.

In the end this is a very selfish society, mostly men’s selfishness and no consideration for the feelings of anyone. Very controlling, but if I do tell the father, it will be me controlling the situation. His excuse for not being with me, dating, bars, meeting friends and family has been that he has to take care of things such as college and his new career. So I would be causing him more stress and things to worry about. Or would I? Would he be so selfish that he as some men never contact me nor the child? Should I care what he thinks?”

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McCain had an affair??? Oh boy.

February 21, 2008

Did Senator McCain have an affair? The New York Times says there’s a good chance. And it was with a lobbyist. Oops. Here’s an excerpt from the Times article. “Early in Senator John McCain’s first run for the White House eight years ago, waves of anxiety swept through his small circle of advisers. A female [...]

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Married people are weird (for the most part).

February 13, 2008

Maybe it’s because I already have the child, the job and the house – minus the husband – but married people mystify me. And why do so many single women want to get married so badly? I can understand why us single moms want to get married – it might be easier. I stress, the might. But single, childless women. Seriously. What gives? Am I missing something? Why do they want to find a man so badly? I look at young single women and all I think is god – you have the world in front of you. You could do everything…and be with someone – but do you have to marry him? Why this crazy desire for a ring?

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Getting over it.

February 12, 2008

My best friend is still trying to move on from a rough break up…and she’s a single mom. I’m running out of advice for her … and feel like a broken wheel. “It will just take time, you’ll be okay, he was a jerk anyway.” But in the here and now she’s hurting. And I’m running out of comforting words. I thought it might be nice to get some fresh perspectives – like yours!

We are all single mothers. And that means we’ve all dealt with a failed relationship or two. How do you cope? Are there any ways to make the pain go away a bit faster? How long do you wait to start dating again?

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Things I try not to think about: What if’s? and Whys?

January 29, 2008

Benjamin and I spent 4 hours in urgent care today. 4 hours! Between chasing Benjamin and keeping him entertained my mind did have a few minutes to wander.

I thought about my father. He was a doctor and all hospitals bring his memory back front and center. I imagined what our lives would be like if he hadn’t died of cancer. First of all – I know we wouldn’t have to be in this horrible urgent care, waiting for hours and hours. I daydreamed about talking to him on the phone – telling him about my day, about Benjamin, about Kris.

Then the thoughts stop. They have to stop – Benjamin has disappeared down the hall – he’s deep into the radiology department. Ironic. Yes. Annoying. More so.

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Single Mom S.O.S. – Explaining a Break Up

January 23, 2008

My best friend and fellow single mom, Abby, is still reeling from her break up. And so is her 5 year old daughter, Penny. She’s a beautiful, happy little girl who also fell in love with mommy’s boyfriend. How couldn’t she? He was over at their house at least three to four nights a week. They’d been together for nearly one year and had been talking about moving in together, starting a family – the whole kit and caboodle. And now – poof – he’s gone and Penny is broken hearted. If you’ve never seen a 5 year old with a little broken heart – lucky you – because I saw my first one tonight and it was unbearable.

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