Guest Post: Tristan Womack

I asked a friend from high school to do this next guest post because she is a single mom trying to do it all for her little man. She is an amazing woman who would do anything for her son. I opened my email this morning to her story and was deeply touched. She is showing an amazingly positive attitude and is now and has been going through a lot. Never doubt how amazing women truly are! This is a must read!

"When we grow up playing house as little girls none of us imagine that our house would consist of being a single mom working 2 jobs, at least I didn’t.  I had the dream of a big home filled with lots of kids, a loving husband, and a dog.  At the age of 28 my dream changed.  When my son Gabriel was 2 ½ months old and I found myself a single mother and clueless.  Now I won’t get into details but for the first year of my son’s life I fought a battle that is any mother’s worst nightmare.  When I came through that I realized that if I could make it through that then I could conquer anything! Life as a single mom is very challenging but also very rewarding at the same time.  I could not ask for a more perfect little boy.  For the first year of Gabe’s life he was very sick.  He had 2 surgeries and we were in the doctor’s office every 2 weeks for one illness or another.  He came down with RSV and still to this day has breathing problems.  He will also be starting speech therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy this upcoming week.  So on top of being a single mom of a 19 ½ month old toddler, I battle the daily challenges of a child that needs some extra medical attention.  Gabe does not speak much so I’ve had to take on the challenge of teaching us both sign language and he communicates very well.  I could get down on myself and wish he was like other kids his age but I step back and realize that he is special and this is who he is.  I will always accept him no matter what differences he may have. 

So now that you have a little background here is my life as a single mom in a nutshell.  My days start around 5:30 (or at least they should) with getting ready for my day.  Making sure I have everything for work, Gabe has his things for day care, and that everything is packed for both of us for the evening.  When I leave the house in the morning I must make sure everything is prepared and packed for the day since I don’t see my house again until about 10pm Monday through Friday.  Once I get Gabe up I spend time chasing a toddler around trying to get him dressed and corralled to get out the door.  Just getting to the car is quite the chore.  I live on a 2^nd floor duplex so I have 3 bags slung over my shoulder, heels, and a toddler who wants’ to do stairs by himself.  By the time we get to the bottom of 2 flights of stairs (10 minutes later) he claps and is so proud of himself and all I can do is smile at his joy!  We then make the short commute to daycare where I get him settled in and get his breakfast.  Then it’s time for me to head off to my full time job.  I spend the next 8-9 hours in turmoil over wanting to be with my son and also providing a life for him.  Once my day is over about 4pm I go pick Gabe up and off to Grammy’s we go!  I spend about 15-20 minutes playing with him then it’s time to go off to job #2!  Some days he waves and goes on playing and some days he clings to my leg and I end up leaving in tears because it breaks my heart, but I reassure myself that this is what is best for Gabe right now.  I spend 4 hours at my 2^nd job and then I head back to my moms to pick Gabe up then head home to put him to bed and give him his daily breathing treatment. Once he is down for the night I do all the house chores that need done on a daily basis.  My night usually ends around 12:00/1:00 am. 
Although some days I just want to sit and cry, I pick myself back up and do it all over for the precious little boy that is counting on me.  I could ask why me or why us but that wouldn’t change anything.  I would do anything for Gabe no questions asked.  Although I can’t take all the credit, I could not do this without my wonderful family support and friends that keep me focused.  Every morning I have a choice to stay in bed and give up or get up and face the world.  I chose to face the world and show my son that I’m a fighter for him.  I want him to be proud that I’m his mom and know as he grows up that I’ve done everything possible for him and his happiness. Every challenge that I have experienced in life I always thought was the worst that could happen and I would always get through it.  Once I made it through so many things I began to realize that everything is possible and nothing can beat me.  A quote that I keep on my kitchen board and has gotten me through many things is “you never know how strong you are until being strong is all you have.”   I am strong for my son and there is nothing that will ever change that.  No matter how tired I am or how much I think I can’t take on one more thing I take a look at my little boy and realize that IT’S ALL WORTH IT!!"