Reflections on Motherhood

The backstory:

I’ve been thinking about motherhood of late.  What follows is the first of a few entries on that topic.  I caution that these opinions are mine alone and reflect my experience as a mother.  My goal isn’t to offend but is to share my point of view and lay down on (digital) paper some things about motherhood that I have come to believe.  

Solitary Motherhood

In my life and work, I know a number of what society calls single moms, women who are unmarried and raising children.  They aren’t all single, per se, so that designation feels inexact to me.  The phrase single mother isn’t really the whole of what I mean, because motherhood of this variety isn’t just about not being  partnered with the the father (or other parent) of your child.  The women I am talking about are involved in raising a child (or children) primarily on their own while also working outside the home.  To me they are therefore a category on their own.  I call them solitary moms.  

I’m not a father, so I don’t know for a fact that what I’m about to write about solitary motherhood isn’t true for solitary fatherhood, but all that I know about our social and cultural world tells me that there is a huge difference in how society treats mothers and fathers, especially those who are on their own.  Over the years, these distinctions have frustrated me because I think that society often makes life for solitary moms more difficult than it needs to be.  More on that in my next post on motherhood.