I stayed awake late one night to calm my new crying baby who’s tummy hurt from the spicey breast milk I had just fed him. Actually no, that was many many nights.

Everytime he needed anything, it was me who ran to his rescue. I had a little help from friends and family, but for the first 15 months of my son’s life, I was the epitomy of single mother.

I changed every single diaper that hit the floor. I made all the bottles, cleaned up after him, woke every single time in the middle of the night, and no, I’m not complaining.

When I first realized I would do it alone, I absolutely freaked. I think my exact words were, “But I can’t do this alone.” Afterall, my mom always preached about how much trouble babies created and how important it was to have the father around.

Throughout the pregnancy, I had plenty of time to get used to the idea, and I started to do some planning. I read countless articles on raising children and found a role model. At the time, she was only 18 and being that I just turned 23, I figured that if she could do it, then so I would as well.

I will never say that single parenthood is glamourous or fabulous, but then again, neither is raising children with a team of help- it’s just a lot of work.

But one thing that I learned through my experience made all the difference. Once the day came to an end, I could review the events and call them my own. The first time I reflected, I found a sense of empowerment. The next day, when I woke, that became my incentive to do a good job. That was the feeling that I held onto; that feeling kept me going.

Soon, I had the attitude that I could do anything, accomplish any goal or do any task just as good as two people, and sometimes, better. I quickly learned that parenting is entirely what you make it and that even with the help of a father, it could be just as difficult.

I learned that single parenthood morphs into the attitude that I created around it. If I chose to have a bad day, when Skylar cried, I cried. When I rose to the occasion, the spilt milk got cleaned in two seconds with one hand while simultaneously preparing the next bottle.

Now, times have changed. I am happily married and working on my second child. This too, can cause some apprehention, because my children will be only two years apart. Anytime my mind wanders to a negative what if scenario, I take a deep breath and remind myself that I choose my attitude in life. And this makes all the difference.

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About the author: Brooke Hadley currently writes freelance feature articles and has six years of professional writing experience. She has recently been published in Mystic, CT, Los Angeles, CA, and Austin, TX. She currently lives in Austin with her new hubby and their son, Skylar Austin. Email Brooke Hadley: PersistentGerl@hotmail.com.

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