I am Single Mom,
Personified!
I was watching the movie ‘How To Be Single’ this past weekend and there was a quote at the end of the movie that stood out to me. Alice, who is one of the main characters, says: “The thing about being single is you should cherish it. Because in a week or a lifetime of being alone, you may one get one moment. One moment when you’re not tied up in a relationship with anyone; a parent, a pet, a sibling, a friend. One moment when you stand on your own, really truly single…and then…it’s gone.”
I am a single mom who works a full time job in order to provide for my two beautiful, wonderful daughters, ages 13 and 5. We share our home with several pets that include a dog, a turtle, two fish, and six birds. I am the oldest of three children, and we believe our amazing mother is the reason we not only survived our childhood, but are succeeding in our adulthood. I have a small circle of people I feel privileged to call my friends, even though we do not spend nearly enough time together.
According to the quote,
I have always been tied up in a relationship in one form or another.
I do believe you should
cherish being single, or at least those moments you feel single when there isn’t a significant other or child or job that needs your attention! I feel those moments are few and far between and need to be cherished. But I’m not sure if I can say that I have had that one moment when I have stood on my own and felt truly single, because I have always had those relationships. I am okay with that. I believe those relationships are important – even if they are terribly dysfunctional and stressful at times. The people you surround yourself with are your support system, your safety net, and the people you would go to battle with AND for.
Why am I sharing all of this with you? I felt it was only proper to introduce myself being this is my maiden article for LOP Magazine. I have to be honest and say that when I was approached about writing, I was (and still am) very hesitant. Why? Like most teenage girls, I started a journal and now almost 30 years later, I am being asked to share my story with the readers of LOP Magazine. Instead of my thoughts and emotions being tucked away safely and neatly in notebooks under my bed, they will be published for all of Cleveland to read! That’s a big terrifying change for me!
But then I had a moment –
and maybe it was that moment – when I realized how similar the words ‘JOURNAL’ and ‘JOURNEY’ are, which got me thinking and writing.
EVERYONE has a story to tell.
There are chapters you want and are proud to share; your successes. There are chapters you would rather NOT read out loud, instead tuck them safely under your bed where they can be quietly forgotten; your failures. Regardless of what chapter of life you are currently on, it is meant to be shared. Your life, your story, is meant to be shared – not tucked away in a notebook under the bed. I want to share my stories with you. I am nothing extraordinary – but my life has been a series of extraordinary moments, battles and stories that have made me the person I am today. I have the wounds and proudly wear the scars that prove I showed up to the fight. What if the stories in my journal could help one person out in their journey of life?