Not Another Single Mom Blog!

I survived today. The first anniversary since being split up. Better yet, I didn't miss him at all today. Today was my day off. I took my kids shopping. I bought a new outfit for myself and took them out to lunch. I paid off a credit card. I have been in debt since I was old enough to apply for a credit card application. During my marriage it only got worse. I have been behind on everything since I quit working to stay at home with the kids over two years ago. Every day was a struggle and money was a big issue in my marriage. I have three of my six cards paid off, and I will finally be caught up on my car payment next month. I was FIVE MONTHS behind on my car payment. It's amazing how much more in control I am of my finances and it feels so good. As a stay at home mom I always had that feeling that I had to ask for money because I was never put on the bank account. I always felt guilty for wanting something for myself because I felt I hadn't earned it. I have ...

This September is significant in a lot of ways, as I mentioned in my introduction post, but I never got to go into detail about it. Firstly, if you're into zodiac signs I'm sure you can already tell I'm a Virgo. I'm a planner and a perfectionist. My birthday was September 4th. This year it fell on Labor Day. I didn't want to get excited about it because I had a feeling that if I did, then I would be let down - Which I was. I was surrounded by family, but most of my friends had other plans or simply couldn't make it - Which was fine, but I still sulked. Everyone knows the significant days after a loss are usually the hardest. My birthday was a little extra difficult because I got off track and lost focus. I suddenly felt empty again. However between then and now I had another moment of clarity where I realized I was back tracking and being extremely codependent. This is the frustrating part. I move forward, I move back - But if I look back at the bigger pict...

Step One: You don't. If I'm being honest, I lost my sanity the moment I found out I'd become a mother. As I mentioned in my Introduction post, the more I tried to control the situations at hand, the more I seemed to be losing control. This has been a pattern in my life for as long as I can remember and I didn't even realize it until my husband left me; because what could I do then to control him then? Absolutely nothing. And it sucked. My new lease on life is to accept my insanity, and embrace those who accept my insanity, too. Step Two: Let that shit go. This has been the most humbling experience in becoming a single mother. I never quite understood the balance between divorce and parenting until I got thrown into it. My kids are watching everything I do, and they're so young and innocent. They don't deserve to be put in the crossfire of my anxiety and indifference towards their father. My greatest downfall is in not letting things go. I am a plan...

Hello World, Here I am again, putting my heart on the line. My name is Haley. I'm a 27 year old single mother of two. September is a very important month for me and I just haven't been able to put myself into it this year because I've had so much going on in my life. But I need to share my passion; that's my way of being the change in my world. If you had told me ten years ago that right in this moment that I would be living with my parents for the 50,000th time, I would probably believe you. Had you told me it's because my husband left me and now I'm a single mom, I'd call your bullshit. Unfortunately, that's exactly how things are. When I was 17, I had life figured out. I was in beauty school. I had a room up in Mill Creek, WA where I was going to finish out at Paul Mitchell the School and line up a high end career in Seattle, WA. I had it all figured out. And then I moved to Texas. I went to school for a semester of Business Administration w...