Joys of Single Motherhood

or Things Could Certainly Be Worse In my household, we have what we laughingly refer to as "the worst mother of the day/week/month". I guess we all feel like screw-ups in the Department of Mothering sometimes, but there are the occasional doozies that make one cringe. At least a little. For example, a week ago I received a new bottle of perfume in the mail that I'd ordered online. I was with my son when I opened it and he asked to smell the scent. I took off the cover and pushed the pump on the bottle and sprayed it right in his eyes. I was horrified and he was in pain. Fortunately, he was also laughing at the same time his eyes were tearing up. His eyes are fine and he likes the scent but I'm still shaking my head at my own carelessness. I forget to check the sprayer to see where the little hole was before I sprayed it. Duh. I gave myself the "Worst Mother of the Day" award for that one. There are always smaller lapses. We all have them. I'll forget the

I am about to become a member of the "sandwich generation"--women (usually daughters) who end up helping to care for elderly parents while still parenting their own kids. This brings me to the issue of balance. I used to be puzzled at magazine articles that talked about "achieving balance" with work, kids, and marriage. In retrospect the fact that my marriage seemed to need nothing at all indicated that it was worth nothing, but at the time it seemed a bonus. I had work and the kids and they didn't seem to need balancing. I was pretty much free to do as I pleased during the day. I had my small business, a great friend who loves retail as much as I do, and even a part-time pal who took care of all home repairs. Now that I work full-time, I get the whole "balance" issue. Trying to juggle my morning sciatica, my kids' daily adventure as they do or don't get ready for school, the cats, the lunches and now this new project with my mother is definite