9/27/2005

Salute to Single Mothers

As our two and a half weeks without Keith draws to a close, my appreciation for the parent who must do it all alone, for whatever reason, is bigger than ever. Of course, most single mothers must work outside the home and deal with other emotional complications that I didn't have to think about. My temporary experience really can't compare to the real thing but I must say I have more empathy for the lone caregiver. When you give your child every minute of your day, without break, you'll both tend to despise each other by the end of it.
Thankfully, we've had our two mornings of pre-school a week. When the weather is nice, we go for a walk/bike-ride which helps immensely. Today was a perfect weather day and we took advantage of it again.
This picture was taken right after a not-infrequent spill. Ethan is checking out his hand for blood and gore.

4 comments:

Loreo said...

I didn't catch where Keith went...kudos for surviving an actually fair amount of time as a "single mom." I can't imagine going that long with my brood, alone. =)

Anonymous said...

Is Ethan riding without training wheels!?!?!? He's only three! Tell me the truth.

ljm said...

Lori--Keith was gone for work...We just calculated today that he's been away 10 weeks in the past year (the longest was 6 weeks)
Gretchen--that's funny, I didn't realize that the picture cut them off but yes, he does have training wheels, and believe me he needs them!

Anonymous said...

Amen to that! I have great respect for those moms who must do it all alone. I can't imagine. Andy was as "single dad" last week while I was in Dallas for a MOPS convention. He now has a new respect for single moms as well. He managed, but I cringe at the thought of what Ella's hair looked like on school days. He says he just "whipped it in an up-do" each morning. Ugh. I'm glad Ethan still uses training wheels! I was feeling extra bad about my mothering skills. Not only do I NOT knit, but Grant's life depends on his wheels.