[Jamie] "seriously has no idea how single parents manage."
At that time, I had a 20-month old daughter and was 5 months pregnant with my second baby. And I meant it - I had no idea how single parents managed. Being a single parent wasn't my life. Being a parent was still fairly fresh. And being a parent of 2 was only a terrifying, yet exciting, notion.
If you know me well, you are aware that I have an amazing memory - for some things. When I became a single parent less than a year later, I remembered the above post. Almost immediately. I also remembered the difficult parenting day that made me type it and it repeatedly sent me into a tailspin. There was NO WAY I could parent alone. No. Way. I had not signed up for single parenting. (Um, who does?) And I knew I couldn't do it. I would fail. I just knew it.
The "current" me has a few words for the "then" me. (I'd write in the third person, but that scares people sometimes. I don't know why . . .)
First of all, stop doubting yourself. God gave you this life. If you don't know the reason, that's fine. Sometimes you don't need all the info upfront. Second, every parent fails on a daily basis. Most parents succeed on a daily basis too. You're very likely not going to irreversibly screw them up. So stop thinking you will. Third, your kids will love you if you love them. And you love them. And, finally, CHILL. OUT. You're gonna be just fine. And guess what? So are they.
Yeah, so it's not a counseling session for a newly "single" parent. But it's all true. At least for me.
Now, if only I could figure out a way to notify God that random facebook status posts don't always have to teach me something extraordinary . . .
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