Single Moms Say What

We've got a lot to say about being a single mama, in all its challenges, bliss, triumph and so-freaking-tired-and-behind. And so do many other mothers out there, writing the words and sharing the experiences and offering advice and asking the really tough, tearful, truthful questions. Here are five links we know you'll want to click this week.

Kristen Chase's Single Mom column on AlphaMom is full of so much raw, wonderful, funny goodness, you will head over to read this one post on the sacrifices we learn to live with as single parents, and you will end up hours later, reading every single thing Kristen has written. 

In desperate need of a massage but don't have another set of hands nearby to give you a good rub-down? Or perhaps 90 minutes with a professional massage therapist is not in the budget this month? Here are a few moves you can do with a foam roller to work out those tense muscles and aches from lifting kids, Target bags and, too often, the weight of the world. I'm not sure if a single mom compiled these three muscle-detanglers, but all of us could use ten minutes doing them. Trust me. Foam rollers cost about $20 (Target, Amazon, a sports store). And if you're up for it, I recommend a roller bar as well for a little personal massaging that you don't need to close the door to do.

Two houses are better than one. Which is what Monica Bielanko told her kids - as many of us have -  in the transition between living together and living apart. Monica's accounts of separation and treading into single parenthood are carefully measured and still packed full of the feelings, both open-wounded and empowered, that somehow feel new even if they are very familiar to our own experiences.

Finally. A visitation calendar that is simple, clear and works well, even for pre-readers. Sorting out mommy time and daddy time helps everyone stay saner and (we've found) eases transitions and scheduling. For the investment, I'd highly recommend contacting the company and requesting co-parenting accessory packs that work with two-mama, two-papa and other family configurations, too!

Should you keep marriage mementos? This single mom says no. (I am not sure I agree.) Ten days or ten years post-decree, is it most healing for you to hold on to a few remnants of a past relationship or should it all be trashed?