The Single Superwoman

My Mother is a single mother. And has been for almost 4 years. She is seriously the most loving, selfless, caring, and sweetest woman you'll ever meet. 

When I was younger I used to look at her and say, "I want to be like you when I grow up, I want to be a Mom." She would always smile and say " you do? It's a hard job!" Back then, I only saw a little taste of motherhood. I would always come home from school with a snack already made for my brother and I, and she would allow me to watch cartoons after finishing homework. All I thought motherhood was, as cleaning, cooking, and loving your children. while half of that is exactly what motherhood is. It's very different from now. Back then I didn't notice how much she did for my brother and I. But, it took me 16 years to fully understand and see just what she went through and did.

When I was 16, my Mom became a single mother. For years, she was married to my Step Dad. Things weren't as hard because she had someone to pat her on the shoulder and say, "It's okay, we got this."

And things were okay back then. We were a complete family. But, as soon as we moved out on our own, things got extremely hard on her. She no longer had that one person to hold her up. She had to hold herself up, as well as my brother and I. I soon found out what motherhood really was. It was her working late nights, scarping change to get by sometimes. A lot of the things we had, we sold for money for food. We did it without hesitation because we knew that one day, we could probably replace those items. She struggled, we struggled. It's like the saying, "Things are going to get hard before they get easy." 

A year went on, and we moved again. This time, there was a dining table in the dining room. There was a couch and a TV in the living room. It honestly felt like our prayers had been answered. We found a nice place, and we even had more furniture this time around. Life still isn't easy for her or us, But she shows us every day how hard she works. She comes home from the Hospital, working 13 hour shifts.

I know that the world is on her shoulders, I know she's frustrated. But, this single mom thing is way harder than anyone thinks. No one really pats single mothers on the back and says, "Hey, you're doing such a great job, you're working so hard to give your children everything they need!" But, I have definitely told my Mom how much I appreciate everything she does. Nothing she does goes unnoticed. I have found a new appreciation and love for single mothers. I will never understand how they hold it altogether, but I will always understand what they go through. 

My mom's struggles has not scared me out of the decision of having children one day, Because even though we have struggled so much, her love has never changed, we have come first, and being a mother is still loving your children to bits, and caring for them. She's made me want children one day, so I can take care of them just like she has taken care of me. So I can fight for them every day just like she fights for us. So I can love them unconditionally like she has done for us. 

Thank you Mama for being my Superhero.

-Brittney