To think no you don't know how hard it is actually!

[MakeItUpAsYouGoAlong]

I am actually sick of mothers I see in real life telling me that they get how hard being a single mum is because their Dp works and he doesn't get home til after the baby is in bed?

Well actually no, you don't get how hard it is! You don't get how some times I might no see another human for days.
You don't.know how much it kills me emotionally. How lonely it is. Yes it's great too. But you don't have 100% responsibility.
You get your weekends together.. I can't even go to the loo without the wine starting!!

I really need to off aload about RL

[Bobyan]

Rant away OP, my other half is home well after I have put the kids to bed during the week and by Friday I've really had enough.


My life isn't hard but I know we all need to offload sometimes without the professionally offended jumping in and giving you a kicking...

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

Make I understand completely and YANBU. I've been a single parent since DS was born 7 years ago and it's hard, very hard. Like you I put on a front which makes people believe that I cope really well and I actually do cope really well most of the time but I never admit just how completely lonely and utterly overwhelming it can be doing everything on your own.

People saying things like 'Oh DH is working away all week, I feel just like a single parent!' with a little laugh and conspiratorial nudge of my elbow just makes my piss boil. They have no idea what it's really like to be a single parent, none whatsoever. They don't know what it's like to do all the child rearing, washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, household admin, driving around, doctors appointments, dealing with illness, night wakings, kids parties, school plays/parents eves etc, while at the same time single-handedly bringing in all the income by WOH, juggling finances to make ends meet and making every single decision that ever needs making. My ex has never bothered to see DS so I never get a weekend off, ever. It's relentless and it's fucking hard. I'm glad you're dating because at least that'll keep people off your back about that - I constantly get 'Oh, you'll meet someone soon', usually said with the obligatory patronising head tilt.

Moan away if it helps. And look forward to a better future because it will come.

[corlan]

This thread is starting to remind me of the Monty Python sketch of the four Yorkshiremen competing to see who had the most miserable life here

[Kewcumber]

I have had a partner in the army and once (post army with UN) was front line and it was stressful.

Being the sole parent to DS has been both the most rewarding and the toughest thing I have ever done. I'm not sure the two are directly comparable and OP wasn't saying that no-one else is allowed to find their life hard just that it is bloody irritating when people try to minimise your difficulties by saying that their DH being away on business for a week and how its like being a single parent. I doubt OP is surrounded by army wives with their DH's all on tour.

You can tell when people are trying to empathise - they normally start with "that must very difficult" and go on to clumsily try to show they know how you feel. Others really aren;t trying to empathise, just trying to make sure you understand how they have it just as tough as you.

Try practicing a sweet smile and saying "yes, I'm sure that must be very hard for you" and rise above it.

It does get easier OP - around when they start nursery you feel you might actually survive!

[Kewcumber]

I even had a friends DH moaning (to her in front of me) about how hard it was for him having a 3 year old (she does most of the work) - I said - hard is never getting a lie in, EVER; being 100% responsible emotionally and financially for your child; once your child is in bed - that's it, no milk runs, chocolate runs quick trip to the gym; making every major decision on your own - vaccinations, schools, holidays, housing.

I still rather be on my own than with him.

[PostBellumBugsy]

If only real life were a comedy sketch Corlan!

[GoblinGranny]

Just remember this thread when you come across someone with a child on the spectrum and avoid all the 'Oh yes, my DC did that' and 'why don't you just...' and 'Don't all children find XYZ difficult'

[JenaiMorris]

Not on threads, but IRL those situations are awkward though because sometimes you don't know that a child is on the spectrum and it feels right to empathise - most children can be trying to distraction.

I hate to think I've offended with some throwaway sympathetic phrase about parenting being a "nightmare" or whatever. Although having said they wouldn't know that my child wasn't on the spectrum, would they?

[specialmagiclady]

I spent 3 years as a Monday to Friday single mum. Partner was away and although at the beginning of the period we spoke on the phone most evenings, by the end we barely spoke Monday to Friday.

It was incredibly hard - and he only worked about 3 weekends away in that period.

I did end up taking responsibility for almost everything.

I do believe that it gave me some insight to the life of the lone parent. It was waaaay easier, of course, because I got to go to work on Saturdays for a break and I had DH to consult on big decisions. And, crucially to earn the money.

But when you've made the call not to take your ill baby to A and E in the night because you would have to wake and take a 3 year old too, you have some idea what's involved in lone parenting.

Enough to know I wouldn't do it on a whim, enough to make me really work at my marriage when DH finally got a job near home.

I absolutely take my hat off to those of you who do it full-time. I will be very careful how I frame any attempts to empathise in future. X

[HappyMummyOfOne]

I am sure we all moan at some point about being a parent but its a choice we all made. No one set has it easier or harder, a single parent can have far more support than a couple in terms of family and friends etc.

People can try and compare situations to make others feel better, yes it may not be the same but moaning because they dared try is a little mean.

[skyeskyeskye]

specialmagiclady - good post there and a good explanation.

happymummy - yes we all chose to become parents, but I told XH that I would not have chosen to become a mum at 36 and give up a well paid full time job if I had known that less than 4 years later he would clear off. I then went part time, then left to go self employed to work around her school hours, if I had known that he would clear off and leave me to bring up DD on my own, I wouldnt have left the security of that job. If I had known that he was going to leave me with a £700 mortgage, I would never have sold my little cottage where the mortgage was £235 a month... All my choices were made as part of a couple, as part of a family.

The one thing that I did not choose was to become a single parent. My XH walked out on me with no warning, totally selfish.

not having a go at you , just saying that some choices you make because you think you have the backup and support of a partner/husband and then it all backfires on you.

I do think that generally people mean well, but it doesn't always come across like that. It's not a competition and Im not saying that my life is harder than anybody else's, but it most definitely is not the same as being part of a couple. :(

[rainbowfeet]

Just to add a lighter note about friends telling me to meet a man.... My good friends DH said to me the other day that I should go on that sugar daddy dating site.. So I said blimey they would be after a trophy girlfriend not someone old & fat like me (I'm 39 & a size 14/16) friends DH replied "yeah, suppose so but you ain't that bad"!!! Tickled me!! Just wondered if using charm like that won my friend over!!! Xx