"Single Moms Have Real Families Too!"

Chere over at "A Single Christian Mom's Advice on Making Life Easier" raises a valid point in this post of what constitutes a real family - http://asinglechristianmomsadvice.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/single-moms-have-real-families-too.html.

I am a single mum and I have a real family. There may only be two of us in the house, but we - my daughter and I - are a family. We don't have a husband/dad on the scene, and there are no other children/siblings in the house. Does that make our lives and how we live it any less important than a how a family with a husband/dad and children/siblings do? No, it doesn't.

One of the struggles I've encountered as a single mum is that some of society look at us differently. Not just as women who are raising children, but as women who don't have a husband. And somehow parts of society seem to put us in a different category. The "not a real family" category. The "she's just after a husband" category. The "it's not a real home" category.

Well, I'm sorry society, but you are wrong. I am a woman raising a child (and quite well, I might add). I am a woman who now chooses not to have a man in my life for the benefit of both my child and myself. I am a woman who is bringing up a family. I am a woman who is raising her child in a real home.

I love my life with my daughter. There are times when it would be good to have a husband to now the lawns, wash the car, and take care of the "man stuff'. But, in the meantime, I do that.

We function well as a family. There may be only two of us, but we are just that - a real family.

Paula xo