Category: Family

When My Daughter Is Away With Her Dad

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When My Daughter Is Away With Her Dad

When my daughter was two and a half, my ex suggested that he take her on a holiday for six days next time he was in Sydney. I liked the idea of her having some time away with her dad. And although I wanted them to build their relationship up and have a great bond, I felt it was too long a trip to have for their first alone time together. He had also been in and out of her life a lot up until that point. At one stage he was out of the picture for over seven months. I suggested a shorter trip first and on his next visit, if she coped OK, they could go for six days.Continue Reading →

Happy five years of parenting to me!

Happy five years of parenting to me!

Last week my daughter turned five years old. Where did the time go? I can’t help but reflect when there are special days, or milestones reached. And I have been doing a lot of that over the last week.

When I think back over the last five years, although the time has passed quickly, at times the days were long. Particularly when my daughter was a baby, and then a toddler.

My daughter’s dad and I split up when she was two months old, so this birthday marks almost five years of single parenting for me (or – because I’m doing double the work – is it ten?).Continue Reading →

To The Single Mum At Christmas

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To The Single Mum At Christmas

Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of year, right? It’s the time of year that is supposed to be about happy children, love, celebrations, family, friends, food… For the kids, it sometimes seems it is only about the presents… But Christmas can be very hard on single mums (and single dads too).

Christmas can be a time of reflection and reminiscing about past happy times (or maybe not so happy times). It can be a time of sadness, a time of loneliness, a time of guilt… Have I failed my children? Have I let them down? Could I have done more?Continue Reading →

A letter to my daughter as she finishes day care

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A letter to my daughter as she finishes day care.

To my darling daughter,

Wow, I cannot believe that you have finished day care. Forever!! It is the end of a chapter and the start of an exciting new one.

When you were a baby, leaving day care felt a lifetime away. It was something I didn’t have to think about. But now I do. We are here. Today. Now.

The end of a chapter is always a time of reflection for me. As I look back on the last three and a half years you have spent at your day care, it makes me smile.Continue Reading →