O-mama - Opinionated Moms

I'm a single working mom (with ex totally out of the picture) and making ends meet it tough. There's a great link in this room to information on childcare costs but it's kind of depressing because the solutions are few. Anyone out there have some advice?

My husband decided he wanted a divorce after I told him the exciting news we were going to have a baby...yeah, he said I'm not ready for a family yet. So from that point on, I knew it was just me and the little one. I made a vow to God and myself that i would protect and watch over him, and he became my heart. He is now 12 years old, gifted and talented, and I am so blessed to have him in my life! :D

Being used to having his father take and pick him up from daycare. I am a night owl and I will hit the snooze button 10 times if I have to. So I'm usually two or three minutes late. Of course I do not go out, but if I did, I would feel bad asking my brothers or mother to watch my child while I party. But never do my downs outweigh my ups. I get to watch him grow everyday and discover new things. My son is turning one, and is so handsome {I hear it every where I go} and very tall for his young age. Don't understand how someone could walk away from something so amazing. Seeing myself in him makes me wanna work harder and harder for him.

Single Mama! I am also 35, I have a 6yr old girl. She has never met her "father" (Kevin) either. [You don't live in TN do you?..lol] Not a week goes by when my daughter asks about her father. It first started around 3yrs. and I told her that he lived with his momma. Then the day came and I had to answer that he was in the local jail. In her kindergarten class one morning one of her classmates asked me if she had a dad! I told him that yes she has a dad, she just doesn't know him! I've showed her a few pictures of him. She says she is gray because she is also black and white. I tell her she is a beautiful brown. This past month I had to tell her that her dad is now in a prison in another county and he probably won't be getting out for quite a while. She asked why he didn't live with us. I told her that when I told him there was a baby in my belly, he took off and I never saw him again. And of course I got a WHY? I told her he didn't want any responsibilities. I just have to take it day by day! I've tried my best to not say anything bad about him. When I told her he didn't want any responsibilities she started to cry and said I hurt her feelings 'cause I was talking bad about her dad. She gets sad about it and that makes me mad, and sad. Then I get angry at myself for not picking a "father worthy" guy to have sex with! And there is no way I am gonna try and meet strange guys to come be a father for my child. So it's Single Mama life for me... at least for the next 12-13 years! By then I'll be too old and tired to try and meet any guys! UGH! Thanks for sharing and thanks for letting me share! Take care!

INCREDIBLE YOUTH CULTURE PEACE FESTIVAL, JULY 1OTH. Don't miss it. It will be the most fantastic peace festival of the century. Please invite or take all youth to this event. SGI, Buddhist peace organization is holding this wonderful event full of music, dance and song in celebration of youth and their inheritance of the future of our country and world. On the west coast, it will be in Long Beach, http://www.westrockstheera.org/Home.html. Register online. In the Central Area, in Chicago, http://rocktheera.sgicentral.org/. On the East Coast, in Philidelphia, JULY 25TH, http://www.sgi-ny.org/rock-the-era/.

I am glad to see there is a place for a single mom like me to go. My son Jared has never seen his birth father. When I told Kevin I was pregnant he told me to prove Jared was his. I gave Kevin until Jared turned 1 to be a man and at least give Jared his history. Of course Kevin never did anything. Jared is 8 now and has never asked about his birth father. The only thing Jared has asked was about his skin color. I am white and Jared is black. I told him that God gave him a tan and that I had to work on mine. He accepted that and has not asked about that since. The issues I have not is his attitude and disrespect. I am standing strong but sometimes I am tired.

Thanks to the Nanas and Pop-Pops who allow us single moms to have a life. I love my baby, but oh, man...it's great to be out amongst adults! I'm having a fun time at the launch party, meeting other bright and inspired women. And thanks to the aforementioned, I get the chance to spread my wings a bit!

I had a very challenging experience recently when my son lied to friends about his father. He has never known him and is getting to that age when friends ask a lot of questions. I have told him what to say when asked (basically, "my dad doesn't live with us") but i think he wanted a "cooler" story to tell. i won't go into details about what he said, but it prompted an email from the teacher. it's so hard to sit down with a young boy and discuss these things. he has a lot of questions and often my answers are not satisfying enough for him. i knew eventually the "dad" questions would start coming fast and furiously. now i'm scrambling to give him the right tools to move forward.

Check out all the news from this weekend!

i would love to get the word out to other single moms to join this site and this discussion group. sadly, i'm the only single mom i know!!!!

I love the new blogs in each discussion group. Fun to hear how other moms are feeling about things...

Wow...words that echo my own emotions. Being a single mom has its challenges, but it's really the best in the world. I have no one to argue with about how I wish to raise, educate or discipline my child. Many married women feel like single parents anyway. There are obvious challenges with your time, but I have all my energy and attention focused on my little guy. He's the happiest person in the world.

Hey O-MAMA's check out our great new discussion group starter topic and tell us what you think!

@SingleMama: Hi Single Mama! Please invite any other single moms that you know to join the conversation on O-MAMA.

i find it very refreshing the way many european countries view single parenting. whether or not the couple lives together to raise children, they don't raise an eyebrow. in the united states, there is still a stigma attached to non-divorced or non-widowed mothers. i'm hoping to alter that perception. i'm very honest and open with my son, within the context of his age, of course!

i'm looking forward to exchanging experiences and ideas with other single moms out there without ex-husbands in their lives as support with the kids!