A Daughter's Perspective: One Supporter is More Than Fine

This is the first post on this little blog by my daughter Lydia. Hope you enjoy!

Hello all my fellow inhabitants of the world! So, it is 10:43 at night and way past my bedtime! I know my writing may be a bit jumbled, but I promise, it will get better. I just felt the need to write this, because I just finished watching the ABC Family movie, "Cyberbully." In this movie, the main character has a single mother, and I thought "Hey! This is a good blog topic!"
    
ANYWAY, this movie was really moving for me personally. Basically, this girl begins being cyber-bullied, and ends up trying to kill herself. Grim, right? But it really caught my attention... Her mom was the one who really helped get her back on her feet. Middle/high school is a really scary time in a girl's life. 99.9999% of you will be/have been bullied at some point in your life. Just last month, I was a victim of cyberbullying, and I didn't know what to do. But, as always, my MOM was the one that really pulled me through. This is the thing I really love about having a single parent... It's like you have a friend. I know, in the middle of my bad day, that when I go home, I am going to have a friend who will always love me, never turn on me, and always support me.

My mom is my best friend. When you think about it, your mom is probably yours, too. This is the UrbanDictionary definition of "best friend":Someone you can totally be yourself around and not give a care in the world about your actions or feelings because they won't judge you for the stupid things you may do or say. Yup, that pretty much sums up my relationship with my mom. As single-parent-kids, we know that our relationship with our parents is not as uptight as people with two parents. That's great for us! If you are newly a SPK (single parent kid), try looking at your mom/dad in that way: as a best friend that you know will ALWAYS have your back.

WARNING: Do not forget to ALWAYS respect your parents & treat them as parents. I know it may seeeem hard to think of a parent as a parent &friend, but trust me, you'll get the hang of it.

Until we speak again,

Goodnight darlin's!

<3, Lydia Anne

Mama Style

So it's FINALLY fall and boot weather again, and you know what? Boots can be stinking expensive.  I drooled over boots all fall and winter last year, never finding a pair that I liked in my price range, but then a few weeks ago I found these at K-Mart on sale for $20.

For me, $20 is a splurge right now, but since I've wanted boots forever I felt like treating myself.

About Us

My name is Jennifer and this blog is a collaboration between myself and my daughter Lydia. We have learned a lot over the years about how to live well in a single parent household. We've been blessed with wise people in our lives who have helped us heal and grow, and we want to share what we've learned with other single parents.

Currently I am a full time student heading towards a nursing degree. I lost my job almost a year ago, and in that year God has provided for our every need as He always has. It turns out that losing my job was one of the best things that ever happened to Lydia and I.

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I don't believe that being a single mom dooms you to a life of misery. Is there stress? Yes. Do you worry at times? Yes. Do you feel inadequate? Sometimes, but there is a lot you can do to compensate for not having another parent in the house or not being in an economic bracket you're happy with. That's what this blog is about!

Change

Change is good.
Change is scary.
Change is hard.

You've heard people say these things right? Like when you were placed in another position at work, or decided to move to a new city, or your boyfriend left you for someone younger and blonde.

When I think about change an analogy comes to mind. I think, but I'm not sure, that it came from an Amy Grant song. I think about the iceberg scene from Titanic...the moment it became clear they were in trouble and every ship worker engaged every system possible to try to get that thing stopped, or turned or at least slowed down.

When I visualize this I add another statement to our list of cliches about change. Change is hard WORK. It's painful. It's God taking an entire life and all that's connected to it and applying pressure just fierce enough to turn things around without completely overturning the ship. We lament our lost jobs, our lack of money, the end of relationships, etc. and that's fine because we're human, but we fail to realize that in order for God to get us between the bouys again we're going to have to let some stuff go. We're going to have to heave some baggage overboard. We're going to have to take a second look at places we originally said we wouldn't go. It's going to be hard, but it's going to be so worth it when the sea is calm and the sun is rising to warm hearts that have grown bigger, deeper, and more accepting.