Monday, January 5, 2009

Being a single parent

Being a single parent stinks. I don't mind the parent part, that is a commitment I agreed to. It is the single part that stinks. Since my family is older and don't live close by it is hard for them to help. My friends help, but they have young children of their own and also don't live close by.

So why do I stay single? Because nobody has asked me to marry them, that's why! In the 8 years since my wife passed I have dated 2 women. One was very insecure and the dating didn't last long. The other knew exactly what she wanted in a man and I wasn't it. Of course my being a bit of a recluse doesn't help me meet women, let alone women who share my interests.

But it is hard to raise a child when you have only your own opinion to rely on. Am I being to harsh or to lenient? Without a partner to tell me it is hard to tell. I miss that semi-objective opinion. I also miss having somebody to talk to at night. Somebody to discuss my day with. Somebody to tell me how their day went. 15 year old boys just aren't the greatest conversationalists. How was school? Ok. Did anything happen? No. What did you learn? Nothing.

This whole single parenting thing is tough. I don't see why anybody would do it on purpose unless they had to.

1 comment:

Misti said...

Mostly people do it because they have to.

Occasionally people do it because it's better than the alternative.

Me, I did it for the latter reason. but you're right, in comparison to a real partner, single parenthood sucks.