Over to you.
Single Mum/Part Time Parent:
I may be called ‘Part Time Parent’ but I am a Mummy 100%
of the time. The only thing is, I do not have my daughter, Molly, 100% of the
time.
Molly’s Father and I make much better friends than we
did as man and wife, so when our relationship broke down we decided to split
our parental responsibilities equally. After all, who is to say what is ‘right’
or ‘wrong’ when a child is loved immensly by both parents? Having a child is a
blessing, one I do not take for granted, and our circumstances mean that I am
able to devote my undivided attention to Molly when I do have her.
Molly’s Father and I are lucky enough to have a good
friendship, so we can always FaceTime, go out together for Pizza, or even spend
the odd day together having a Disney marathon if our little girl is poorly. The
aim of this blog is to try to banish the stigma surrounding a split family.
There always seems to be so much negativity surrounding a single parent, with
an automatic presumption of struggle and/or loneliness. More importantly,
children are presumed to suffer as a result. Having studied Childhood Studies,
and having come from a family who’s parent’s ‘stayed together for the kids’, I
want to try to encourage people to have a more positive view on Co Parenting,
which may seem a little unorthodox in the traditional sense, but is
increasingly common in modern society. Surely the dated view of scandal and
shame needs to be adapted to the fact that divorce rate is now 50%? The most important
thing is Molly’s happiness. And she is a very happy little girl (although as
soon as you ask her to smile for a photo she gives you her grumpiest face
possible!)
When we first decided on this arrangement, it was hard
to get used to not having her around all of the time. I wanted to try to turn a
negative into a positive and I found myself with a lot of ‘free time’ to chase
ambitions that were somewhat unobtainable whilst being a ‘full time parent’. To
distract myself from her temporary absence, I created a mini ‘Bucket List’ of
things that I wanted to do with my life. I travelled on my own, I travelled
with Molly, I learnt how to DJ, and discovered a new sense of worth whilst
embracing a ‘You Only Live Once’ attitude.
I now love our world more than ever, and want to help
make it a better place, I just need to figure out how. In the meantime, I shall
continue exploring because I have always found travel to be liberating,
inspiring, and educational. This time, in my new found ‘separated’ status, I
shall be a mother, and I can’t wait to take Molly on my little adventures, and
to show her parts of the world too. We will be like Thelma and Louise, but with
less crime, and without Brad Pitt (unfortunately).
Regardless of whether my adventures are solo or with Molly,
I know I am a good mummy and I love my daughter with all of my heart. We look
forward to bringing you stories about our journey…
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