If anybody has ever wondered what defeat looks like, here it is folks. This is the look of a single mom during a pandemic. The look of a single mom who hasn’t left the house except for a grocery order pickup since they called NB to be in a State of Emergency. A grocery order which had 100$ worth of items that wasn’t available, but that I still needed even though it wasn’t available.
The look of a single mom who decided to pack up the children to go to Costco to pick up a prescription and to hopefully get the rest of the things I needed to be able to stay home for a few weeks at least. Because my options are a) get a babysitter which I’m not allowed to do b) leave the kids home alone which I’m not allowed to do or c) get someone to pickup my stuff which by the way equalled 300$. So this is the look of a single mom who was rudely told by not 1, not 2, but 3 Costco employees that it is the last time I will be able to bring in my children, and overheard 2 employees rudely point at me and say “yeah are we putting up signs about children because clearly they’re not gonna listen until we do”.
Most employees were amazing, smiling and friendly, but I’m guessing à few stressed ones took it out on me. You’re looking at the face of a single mom who can’t ship their kids off to their dads and have a break. A single mom who’s been trying to follow the rules, who has been trying my best at working from home with an 8 year old and a 4 year old who fight and scream and need to eat and are bored just like every other kid. And the look of a single mom who came out of Costco with tears streaming down her face to hear that I will now have to add homeschooling to the mix.
So maybe I shouldn’t have taken my kids out today. But when emotions are already high, today broke me. To add salt to the wound, I’ve got 2 children who have been apologizing for an hour because they think they’re a burden. Read that again. And then please, do what you can to stop this pandemic. Because I will need more things in 2 weeks, and 2 weeks after that… That is just my story. We all have our struggles. I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m just saying, please have compassion instead of being so quick to judge, please do your part to flatten the curve and please check on the people around you. Most of us are not ok.
Edit : the response to this has been overwhelming! I don’t know what made me post this, defeat I guess, but I never in a million years expected this to hit home with so many people! I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to send me a message. Not exaggerating, I get an average of 60 messages every hour. Every single one of them from someone offering help, offering encouragement and so many single parents who can relate and who are struggling so much! I’m trying to reply to everyone and I intend to… But it is taking much longer than I imagined. So just know that each time someone reaches out, it touches my heart more than I can explain. There are a lot of amazing people in this world! We are all in this together ❤️❤️❤️ Remember to check on your neighbors, your friends, your family – this has been an eye opener for me and I will be returning the kindness I’ve received, I can promise you that!