Confessions of a single mamma: Burning the candle at both ends
Being a single parent means being solely responsible for the emotional, physical, financial and educational needs of a child.
CHOOSING to separate from narcissism with children in the mix can seem like a never-ending battle, and when financial abuse becomes the only form of torture to inflict, it becomes harder to keep your head afloat.
Ever since I became the sole financial provider for my children, with a bare-minimum salary at the time, I had side hustles to see me through financially supporting my sons and myself, and to pay for the tools that enabled me to work.
Also read: Confessions of a single mamma: Life’s love lessons
Needless to say, I began to lose myself while struggling to share my burned-out body with the different roles and responsibilities.
Being in full-throttle mode had me fighting many health conditions I was not ready to accept. I had to learn to keep my stress levels down and battled to find a balance between a healthy body and mind.
So now, I opt to live simply and lessen my own expenses down to the bare minimum while I’m trying to heal from the burnout. I had to put a stop to burning the candle at both ends.
But being a single parent means being solely responsible for the emotional, physical, financial and educational needs of a child. No co-parenting is involved, and you’re alone in this winding journey of the good, the bad and the ugly parts of being a parent. Thankfully, I have the support of my parents.
I knew this would continue to haunt me, and although I foresaw the challenges, I weighed the situation I was in and chose to bite the bullet and finally live by the principles I stood for.
Needless to say, I am learning that there will always be challenges trying to survive raising two children alone with the continuous rise in food prices, petrol, school needs and medical care.
Also read: Confessions of a single mamma: Tough love
Knowing that it’s only uphill from here, I brace myself for another year-end of madness – juggling and struggling to decide which bill to fit first, how to entertain my children at an affordable rate during the holidays and how to beat the back-to-school crunch in January. Share your experiences and challenges of biting the bullet by emailing yoshinip@dbn.caxton.co.za.
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