About Me

Thanks to Colton Sturgeon on Unsplash for this great pic of anonymous me.

It’s difficult to tell you about me. People are complex beings. When we meet someone new, we usually swap names and occupations, but I find the rest of the conversation is determined both by circumstances and personalities. Since I’m not going to give you my name or occupation, that makes this intro even more difficult!

I’d like to remain anonymous… at least for a little while. Blogging is new to me. While I’m writing a blog to share my feelings and opinions, I’ve got to admit that I’m pretty scared about sharing them with the world. Usually I’m pretty up front about telling people what I think. But I’m worried about my digital footprint. I understand there are intolerant people out there who are not interested in even trying to understand someone else’s viewpoint. Right now, I’m just a small fish in a big pond. But life is full of surprises and I don’t want myself or my family to suffer in the future because of something I say now. So I’m going to use my secret identity as “Solo Mum” for a while and see how things go.

“There is something very freeing about being anonymous because nothing is expected of you; nothing is getting back to anyone, and no one cares.” Dolly Wells (from http://www.brainyquote.com)

Solo Mum is who I am, after all. While I don’t always like it, it certainly defines how I live my life. I’ve been a solo mum to my 8 and a bit year old son for 8 years now. We haven’t received any contact from his father for around 6 years. No big argument, no court case, nothing like that. He just didn’t call (or email, or write, or visit) again. I haven’t chased him up and I’m not going to start now.

So, that’s made me truly a solo mum. I work 2 jobs part-time, one from home and one around school hours. I also study part time. It’s going to take me 8 years to finish my double-degree part time. I can’t dedicate more time to study, as I’ve got to keep the money coming in and the house under control in the meantime. Not to mention time spent parenting! Life is busy.

I’ll try to share some advice on how I’m (mostly) successfully managing as a single parent with little support. I’m hoping that this blog will help me connect with and support parents like me, who sometimes feel like they spend a lot of their time just struggling to make it through each day. Those who find it hard to do all they need to, while at the same time being the best parent they can be. You are not alone!