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To be in the Lonely Mom Club you don't have to be a mother, you can be a stay-at-home dad or even a grandparent. But what we all have in common is that day-in and day-out we care, love, clothe, bathe, and nurture young ones.
Maybe you signed up for the Lonely Mom Club, like I did, not realizing how long 8 hours can be with a preschooler (especially if you, like me, try to avoid filling those hours with TV and video games and don't have transportation or a support network). Or maybe life threw you a couple of little ones unexpectedly and the other parent is not in the picture anymore. Maybe your adult kids, strapped for cash and working like dogs in today's economic depression, have left you with a couple of grandkids running around when you thought you would be sipping margaritas and living it up in your golden years. Or maybe you watch your nieces or are one of those brave souls that take in foster children, knowing that someday the children you love today can be literally gone tomorrow.
The minutes stretch into hours, and hours into literally a millennium.
You look at the clock, wishing you could cherish every single moment like the sappy movies tell you to or every parenting book assumes you can, when in reality you sometimes wonder what it would be like if the bathroom could teleport you just for 15 minutes to a sandy beach in Hawaii, where you can refresh your tired soul and then return energetic and ready to engage in the latest "But I can't put my socks on today! mommy-mommy-MOMMY!"
And as my daughter literally 30 seconds ago brought me a pair of pink sandals so she could match Mommy (who in Floridian stubbornness wears sandals with socks instead of boots every winter) I realize that the truth is that even when I'm tired, exhausted, with zero in the gas tank, I have a child that needs me, loves me, and for some reason, wants to be like me.
These children are precious, and you are precious for giving them the love and care that they need to make it through this insane world. So maybe you can't go out with your non-parent friends today or enjoy a romantic getaway because babysitting costs are prohibitive. Maybe your golden years are full of diapers and not daiquiris, or you're a stay-at-home dad that knows more about fabric softeners than last night's football game. But it doesn't matter...
In the end, what your kids are going to remember is that you were there to hug them, wipe away their tears, and give them what no nanny service, daycare, or television program can give: LOVE.
Thanks for visiting Mami Mozart! I would love to hear about your thoughts. Share this blog with your friends and share your thoughts in the comments.
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Sabrina Pena Young is a stay-at-home mom and professional composer/writer. She enjoys long walks on the beach, chocolate, and painting her daughter's toenails.
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