Today I tip my hat to single moms (and dads), from my sister Mary to my friend Cynthia to the many I don't even know — along with the alone-at-home moms whose husbands travel a lot for business. Steve has been in Phoenix since Tuesday for some work training, and I can't wait to see him when he gets in tonight! I was so apprehensive about being alone all day and all night with Daniel. I've dreaded it more than I dreaded the day in September when Steve went back to work. Yet we've survived, and it hasn't been as bad as I'd thought. Part of the reason is my sister Ellen, who flew in from Oregon to help out with Daniel and keep me company. (She even missed his baptism so she could come later in the week, bless her heart.) Another plus is that Daniel has been sleeping for longer stretches at night. Last night, he was asleep by 12:30 and woke up at 3 a.m. and again at 8 a.m. before sleeping in until noon. Yes, noon. He is a night owl, not an early bird. (He's just like his mother; these late-morning sleep-ins lately have been bliss.)
So I haven't really had the full-blown single motherhood experience, and I know two days is but a blip in the life of a full-time single mom. But I'll consider it a warm-up for next month, when Steve goes out of town again for three days (and nights), and this time I won't have any family in town to spend the night or hold Daniel while I shower and cook. I'll have to rally my friends and in-laws to keep me company while he's gone. And I'm going to have to tap into my inner cheerleader who tells me I can go it alone. So many strong women do it every day. To me, they are incredible. If they can do it, I can do it for three days.
3 comments:
Emilie, you are a strong woman.
To be honest, I envy you and Stephen. You guys really seem to support each other and you both seem to have an active role in Daniel's life and his rearing.
I crave that for Dion. I love my son, but I will never be able to teach him how to be a man. You are so lucky that Daniel will have such a good example of what a man could be, should be and is in Stephen.
As for the single mothering thing, now that Dion is two-years-old, (almost 2 and a half) it's not as tasking as when he was an infant. I'm freer, he's mobile, he's talking, he cries less, I have fewer calls from daycare.... and the best.... both of us can make it out of the house without having a poopy or a spitup accident. (smile)
P.S. Daniel is growing like a weed. He is such a cute boy and he looks so happy. How much does he weigh now?
Thanks, Cynthia. That is nice of you to say, and I know I am lucky that Steve loves to take an active role in parenting, maybe more than many men. I hope with all your brothers, etc., that you can turn to some good men in your life to be there for Dion, too. But even still, you seem like a fantastic mom!
Oh, and I am not sure how much Daniel weighs (he'll get weighed at the doctor's next week), but I am guessing 12 to 13 pounds - based on our inexact method of me stepping on the scale with and without him in my arms and subtracting the difference. He's certainly getting big - he has no trouble in the feeding department! :)
Post a Comment