Single Parenting

I have to commend single parents and the trials they go through each and every day parenting on their own. They have no one to assist with late night feedings, the nightmares of children, feeding older children or providing time for ones self.

Now with that said, I often feel like a single parent even though I am married. My husband works long hours in a job that is very demanding on the body. When he gets home he is tired and just wants to eat and relax on the couch. He often wants to go to bed early and recently informed me his sleep was more important.

Makes me furious. Prior to that comment, he was willing to help during the night whenever I needed it. I would get scolded by his parents concerning his lack of sleep and how important it was for him to get it. That I should not be waking him up to help with the kids in the middle of the night.

So my sleep is not important?

I may be home looking after the children, but correct me if I am wrong, but is my sleep not important as well. If I am tired, how can I look after the children effectively?

In the end, I will put on my big girl panties, suck up my pride and do what I need to do to provide for my family even if it means I am sleep deprived and so tired my children suffer because of it.

Perhaps being a single parent is better than being a parent with a partner who is absent, but still present in the home. I am tired of the comments that are flung my way... "Suck it up", "Man up", "What is your problem", "Grow a pair and do what needs to be done", "You're psycho", and now the new one "My sleep is more important" all drive me to want to be a single parent.