A Day in the Life of a Single Mother

It’s a tricky situation balancing a career, raising children, and running a household as a single mother. I don’t think there are enough “tips” in the world to make it any easier. There are, however, many things that can make it a whole lot more difficult.

I usually don’t voice the things that I’m going through to my friends and family for the simple fact that my life is my mess to clean up, as I have voiced in other hubs. Today I am making an exception because I think people need to see just how cruel and injustice our American government truly is. In order to affect change, sometimes we have to put ourselves out there as an example. As a writer, I have never been one to sugarcoat much. How will my readers get the full spectrum of what is actually occurring if I do not express it? So, here I go putting myself out there.

In August of 2008 my car broke down on my way to a job interview. The motor blew up on the interstate. Being a single mother, I could not afford to pay much for a mechanic. Having a “friend” who was a backyard mechanic, I gave him a call. Long story short he agreed to put a new motor in my car and towed it back to his place. The very next morning this “friend” puts my car back on his dolly and tows it to a salvage yard, crushing it for the money. He pocketed this money. Upon realizing what he had done, I called the police. This man had stolen my car!

The county police claimed they could do nothing about it and I would have to file a civil suit. This seemed ridiculous so I called the state of Maryland where the mechanic had picked up the car and also where he had signed the paperwork stating that it was his and had it crushed. The State of Maryland claimed that since his “shop” was in Virginia, this is a Virginia issue. So now I call the Virginia State Police. The “nice” officer I spoke to said that he could do something about it and claimed that he would call me back. He never called me back. When I called again, that particular officer had been transferred. Upon speaking to another officer, going over all the details for the fourth or fifth time, he said there was nothing that could be done. My car is stolen and nothing can be done.

Beware! If someone crushes your car for salvage, they are obviously not liable.

I moved on. Here I go rolling with the punches again. There is always a brighter side in my world. That car wasn’t my dream car anyway. I shall work hard and buy another one.

Whoa! No, I won’t. DMV has suspended my license for not turning the stolen tags in. This is just one government issue that this single mommy is up against.

Someone steals your car, you will be punished! The State of Virginia and DMV will cripple you. Needless to say, here I am, a single mother without transportation in a rural area where the bus stops running at 4 p.m. and doesn’t run at all on weekends. Great!

Now I’m in the welfare line. I can’t go to work. I can’t take my children where they need to go. I can’t go to any of their events at school. I’m stuck. However, this isn’t even enough yet. No, someone else has to put their two cents worth in and make matters worse.

My three youngest children have been living with me since February, three months now. Their father picks them up on some weekends only to drop them off somewhere else. However, he still has them on his food stamp case and there is absolutely nothing I can do about this either. No, he is entitled to those benefits as long as he sees them once a month. I’m serious, people. I cannot get help for these children who are in my care, whom I cook for and feed, bathe, get up and ready for school, fix their boo boos, take care of when they’re sick, keep them entertained when they’re home from school, clean under their fingernails, etc., etc. , etc.; but their father who sleeps until at least nine every morning, parties hard, chases married and otherwise attached women, hangs out at the local firehouse all day, and does whatever else it is he wishes to with complete and total freedom is receiving funds to take care of these children.

Imagine that, and it’s a true story of a single mother living in America. What a beautiful, beautiful world we live in! Ha!