The worst things about being a LP.

[molemesseskilledIpom]

Please indulge me, I'm ill, my head is killing me, my throat is raw from coughing, I'm bringing everything up, even water, I cant breathe and now I'm sweating and I want to just cry.

I've got no-one to look after the kids, even for just a little bit to get some sleep and am feeling really, really low.

So, apart from being ill and having the kids to look after, what else are the worst things about being a LP?

To balance it out, what is the best thing about being a LP?

For me it's being able to raise the kids the way I want without anyone butting in.

I completely sympathise :)
I'm on my own with a 6 yo and a 2 yo and we have all been ill for 2 weeks with chest infections and a flu-like virus and it's been awful. Luckily I was able to ask a few people to pick up some shopping for us, but I hate nothing more than being stuck in all day, especially with dc who get grumpy when they're poorly, and feeling ill is just the pits. Added to that, my grandad died last week, which coupled with the illness has meant I just want to stay in bed all day. I feel like a crappy mother at the moment tbh, but the dc are starting to perk up and spring is round the corner
Call in all the help you can. Ime, friends really, truly don't mind helping and would far rather you ask for help. If it's going to be an illness that afects you all, preemp it with an internet shop that includes things like ice lollies, which is all my 2 wanted to eat, and comics and dvds that can be brought out at the right time (when they're going crazy usually).
Bets thing, to balance out the pity party above, is just my dc. They are fabulous and a credit to me. When we're not all ill that is

Oh, and Beechams Flu Plus is your friend. I was suffering on just paracetamol and ibuprofen. Takign this was a revelation

Awwwww.. that is really crap.
Would they let you lie down if you spoilt them ion some way.. TV, snacks, drink..? How old are they?

Worst for me, and I do get a break, is the relentlessness of being responsible. Although it was generally like that in the latter years of my marriage so

Best... No arguments as such, lots of laughter, children aren't scared by their Dad's erratic behaviour.

Worst thing for me is having to do all the pots, every single day.

Best is how much happier me and DS are, we have so much more fun now it's just the two of us.

Do as little as possible today IPOM, age appropriate to your dcs explain you are ill, turn the tv on, and allow them to help themselves to a snack (ds is 6 and when I was recently poorly I told him he could eat apples, a babybel or a bag of hula hoops if I fell asleep . Hope you feel better soon.

Just re-read your op - if you are strugglig to breathe you should ring out of hours gp and tell them this.

Aboard it's only because my nose is blocked and want to breathe through my mouth but darent because of the mucus that I keep coughing up.

I would ask my mates but one of them relly needs me right now.

Beechams flu plus is worth it's weight in gold!!!

Washing the pots...I feel your pain on that one...

How are you feeling Ipom...

Ah I see! Still not great but not life threatening either

Hope you've managed to get some rest ipom, I've learnt my lesson trying to soldier on in the past I now surrender to feeling poorly and the rest does me good.

Yep I hate washing up, my hands look like an old lady's.

I have a DD with SN and the worst thing is having to go to all the meetings and appointments on my own. . It's hard enough having to be pushy and insist on things being done properly, but being the only one to fight your corner makes me feel very lonely.

Also I hate not having someone around to do the 'manly' things . It sounds pathetic but I've tried putting up shelves and it was a big failure. And I've never managed to sort out wifi on my PC so even my laptop has to be connected by wires!

Still...I know couples with SN children where all the responsibility falls on the woman anyway, and where I'd probably be better at DIY/techy stuff than the man anyway .

Best thing...probably having the final say on everything and making financial decisions. I always feel sorry for friends who can't do things like go out or buy new clothes because their 'husband won't let them'.

I am only 2 months into this and already the unending responsibility is wearing me down. (no breaks)

Choosing to see my parents more and not having to argue about balancing out pils exactly is the best.

I had a lot of the responsibility too anyway before we split.

The worst thing for me having to work full time and make out your happy all the time when deep down you feel like bursting into tears. I think I may bit a bit depressed and need to make a doctors appt to sort this one out. On a positive note my little boy is amazing and I know Im doing a good job and I dont have anyone else to thank for that apart from me!!!!

Having one of the hardest jobs in the world and nobody to help and tha negative attitudes that abound towards lone parents in society as a whole.

Having the 'flu' all over Christmas and nobody to help me out wasn't fun. I used to get up to make DD her morning milk and shove the kettle on and dose myself up with Flu Max or whatever the strongest thing was, and go back to bed with DD and wait until it had kicked in. Then I could get up and function v-e-r-y slowly. We even had a really nice Christmas Day with Turkey etc. but I obviously went down the "least amount of work" route but both the kids really enjoyed it. I staggered through that week, tbh.

Right, the best thing - Well, one of the best things is us all lying on my bed after dinner on a Sunday night, with a bowl of popcorn, watching a DVD. DD then goes off to bed and DS and I go back downstairs to watch TV - or on the odd occasion - I might just stay in bed for the rest of the evening reading the papers.

MagicElephant sorting out the dongle on your PC should be fairly easy - I did this a few months ago (after spending a couple of years with metres of cable running from the phone point in my hallway all the way up the stairs, around the walls of my bedroom and into my PC)

Shout on and I can talk you through the steps, or shout out on the geeks thread....

The best: not having my PITA alcoholic vile tempered ex in my house. And getting to raise my beautiful son the right way, i.e. my way

The worst: having to work full time and having no-one there to do the big DIY projects for free!

Thanks Lemonylemon. I've just managed to sort it after Googling my router model online . Ha! I don't need a man after all

Magic It's SO satisfying when you find you can do these things yourself... I had a big grin on my face after managing to get mine done (after about 2 hours as my son had given me the wrong WAP number for our router)....

Worst is having to be the one to be the grown up all time and by that I mean being the 'bigger person' and not rising to ex's petty snipes and jibes at me all the time, however much I feel like being a bitch back I WONT have my kids see thier Mum behave like that.

Best is pretty much all the rest of it, the flat is tidy and arranged the way I want, the kids are not being yelled at every five seconds, I can have my friends round without the third degree.
I can watch what I like on telly and do what I want whenever I want.

I find when I'm ill we have an 'easy day' i.e kids are permitted the whole day on the computer or in front of the tv, I always keep a stock of Whiltshire Farm Foods meals in the freezer for such times and I lay on the sofa and die at my leisure, it doesn't hurt the kids once in a while.

I had the flu a few years ago and poor DD was alone with me. I have never been so ill, I remember lying on the kitchen floor watching a pizza I'd put in the over for DD because I literally couldn't stand, I couldn't walk without holding onto walls. Lucky I had stuff in the house and then my Mum came up on the third day with some shopping for us.

Another worst thing is the way some people react when they find out your a single Mum but I think with me it's more my age, or the age I look, that people have issues with. I hate it when I seem to be getting along with someone and when they find out more about me completely change their attitude toward me. I hate how no-one understands how hard it is, how stressful it is etc and look down on me

On the bright side, DD is mine, all mine! I can say 'I did that' and be so proud of her and me for bringing up such a beautiful, lovely girl. I like that I make all the decisions because we do what I want, sometimes it would be nice to have someone to discuss things with but I like having the final say. I like it being just the two of us, we are closer than we ever would have been otherwise