Single Mom

This past week I got a dose of being a single parent. After the week I thought about how my life would be like if I did in fact adopt a child on my own. Some aspects of it weren't so bad, but some things I was like, wow, do I really want to do this. My niece (well, nieces) is a sweetheart. She is at a fun age and I thoroughly enjoyed her company but I am soooo not used to having to "entertain" someone 24/7. She literally followed me every time I went into another room, slept in my bed with me (and my two dogs), completely "took over" my computer and is quite a picky eater! Relaxing on my float at the pool was not an option either. We had to "play." All of that was fine because I knew she was only there for a week but it did make me think, "Can I really handle this full time?" It reminded me why I wanted twins...so they will always have a friend their age to play with!

 

I had a list of thing in my head that I kind of wanted to get done or do with her during the week when there was downtime but there was no downtime so none of it got done! Pool + heat + no rain = all day at the pool. Sunday I spent several hours just catching up on my Bible reading so I would be caught up before going to church. I wonder, though, how it would have been different if she lived with me full time. I wouldn't feel as much "pressure" to want to spend as much quality time with her because there would always be tomorrow, right? I wouldn't LET her take over my computer, I would make her sleep in her own bed, and would make her eat healthier. Wouldn't I? It's hard to tell. I only know how to be an aunt, I don't know how to be a mom. Being an aunt is great because you don't have to be strict and you get to plan lots of fun stuff. And the best part is you get to give the kids back. 

 

I will admit the drive back to Birmingham was very sad. It was very nice having a "roommate" for the week. I adjusted just fine getting back into my routine, but it was sad not having my little buddy there. Roscoe missed her, too. The older I get the more I get used to my "schedule" and it would probably take some serious adjustments to add a child into that routine.

 

I'm not saying I would not adopt a child if that is truly what God is calling me to do in the near future, I'm just saying that that was quite a reality check of what that would look like. My hat goes off to the single mommas out there.