Tag: single mummy. life

Single Mummy Life – A year In review -How  was 2015 for you?-

So you did it! You  made it through  Christmas and now its just New Years Eve to navigate and we are done for another year!  I am still on holiday from work  and its taken till now to finally decompress and relax.

So what shall we do now I hear you say? As 2015  draws to a close it’s time to reflect on the year that has passed and look forward to the new one.

2015 was was a  roller coaster  of a year for me  with  big highs and some  very  lows days  for me. I am not sure whether I am glad to see the back of it to be honest but I guess I have to be thankful for the highs and I need to reflect and learn from the lows.

So here is my Single Mummy Life  2015  review with both good and bad bits included.

The best thing that happened to me all year  was starting this blog  (and it is doing great) I have found a rich vein of creativity that has inspired me to do new things with my life,  develop new skills. connect with new people and  start a business it has been amazing , transformational and has definitely changed my life for the better.

Another wonderful thing that happened  was that I had a piece published  in a national newspaper.  The article was about my experiences of being the single mother of mixed race children and how  black and mixed people are represented in the media. It was also a lesson for me in grabbing opportunities as they are presented to you, a journalist asked to write something following a post in social media and although I was scared I didn’t  hesitate.and the results were fantastic foe me.

The children  are a massive part of my life and we have been through a lot together this year. Teen Boy finished school and started university and  is now getting paid to play rugby part time  which is a massive achievement and  a culmination of years of dedication and hard  work. Teen girl  got into the performing arts school of her dreams  which was like a  reality TV fairy tale  and she  has been so much happier ever since.   Don’t get me wrong  we still have our  challenges but its wonderful to see your children go through tough times and come out the other side smiling

Coming to terms with the end of my  marriage and feeling a failure because of it was one of the recurring lows of this year. I had busied my myself with work education and the children in years since my divorce, never really dealing with the emotional side of a very difficult time, my ex remarrying and moving abroad has allowed to time to heal time to grieve and time to move on

I moved to London 30 years ago so 2015 was a time to celebrate my  career and all the friends I met along the way. I had a blast at two Nursing  reunions and realised that I have had a fantastic life so far one that has been filled with love laughter and happiness .

So that was my 2015  full of highs and lows but mostly highs to be honest and with 2016 just round the corner I am looking forward to more adventures, more friends more opportunities and loads of fun

How was 2015 for you?  I would love to hear from you and how it was for you.  you can tweet me  or message me on my Facebook page or leave a comment below. I would be really pleased to hear from you and always reply to comments about my posts.  I want to take this opportunity to thank you reading my blog for your support,thoughts and comments it is much valued and appreciated.

As we look forward to the New Year. I wish you peace,prosperity and all good things

Take care of you

Dawnie  x

 

 

Single Mummy Life-30 years in London, Nursing Reunions and Asthma Attacks  25 things I have learned in the last 10 days 

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks I am still recovering from a very bad cold had a couple of asthma attacks (scary) been to see Teen Girl in a play (very good) and been to 2 nursing reunions ( brilliant)  here are 25 things I learned about myself, others and the world 

  1. Asthma can come from nowhere I last had an attack before I had children so wasn’t expecting it. If you have ever had asthma please have an inhaler at hand in case you need it, asthma is no fun and can kill you.
  2. Teen Girl is good at acting, I watched her in a school production and  was very impressed by her and her classmates.
  3. Teenagers have funny ideas about the NHS and hospitals, the play was set in a mental illness word and the “patients” all had pyjamas on, looked like they had lobotomies, the doctors were sadistic  and were literally armed with tranquilising drugs! Things have changed since the 50’s guys.
  4. True friendship is a precious gift I.had the pleasure of meeting up with people that I have been friends with for 25 -30 years. With people that I have with whom I have shared my brightest and darkest days the experience was humbling and enlightening.
  5. It doesn’t matter how often you see people true friends are always there for you.
  6. I used to have a  waist!   
  7. Teen boy is maturing into a lovely young man. 
  8. Despite my marriage ending in recrimination and tears I am glad it happened I got 2 cool kids as part of the deal.
  9. I only have 2 friends who are still with the person they were with when I was 18 (Leessa,  Simon  John and Tracy I salute you).
  10. I used to get cabs everywhere, I don’t get a cab anywhere now , if I can’t walk get a tube or drive myself, I won’t go.
  11. A lot of my friends are or have been single parents.
  12. If it all ends tomorrow I have had a wonderful life
  13. I am happier now  than I have been for a long time
  14. Selfie sticks have a button on the handle to take the picture ( I did not know this)
  15. I want a selfie stick they are fun. 
  16. I love taking pictures 
  17. Drinking wine during the day has consequences.   
  18. I couldn’t work on ward again I am too old (and too tired) 
  19. Nursing has made me the person I am today. 
  20. The eighties was a great decade great music, bad fashions and lots of laughter. 
  21. London is the best city in the world 
  22. The NHS and all the people who work for it are wonderful. 
  23. I am grateful for my heritage as the fabulous Naomi Campbell said “black don’t crack”  
  24. Reunions are fun nostalgic but also bittersweet, people no longer with us were notable by their absence 
  25. All in all  it’s been good times! It’s 30 years since I started training as a nurse, a small town girl in a big city. I have had some amazing experiences and met some wonderful people. In the last 10 days  I learned to count my blessings and that life is short and goes past in a flash. I know I have had a ball and to mis quote the Areosmith song “I wouldn’t want to change a thing”

Have you been on a reunion what are you thankful for I love to hear from you 

Until the next time D x

  

The Single Mummy Life Machine is broken! 15 things that won’t  get done when you are ill

I was  ill last weekend. Struck down by a heavy cold which went to my chest and left me feeling cold, weak and apathetic

I usually spend the weekend doing the washing the shopping the cooking the cleaning that I don’t get a chance to do during the week ( yes my life is that exciting)

As a result of being so ill I couldn’t be bothered to make my own dinner ( yes really ill) all that went  out of the window.

As I surveyed a mountain of unwashed dishes and a front room I couldn’t possibly let anyone see,  I thought I would  let other single parents  know (as well as Teen Boy and Teen Girl) what to expect when the single mummy machine breaks down.

  1. The dishes wont get washed.   As you are the last person on earth who doesn’t have a dishwasher you will realise the dishwasher is you and you are broken.
  2. The washing will pile up. You do have a washing machine but no tumble dryer and the energy to load and unload wet washing will be beyond you. As for ironing you will remember you never did it anyway.
  3. The kids will expect  all mummy services to be functioning as usual, the teens although sympathetic to your plight will still demand, lifts , money, your ear  and food on the table. You will start to hate them (a little) for it.
  4. You will feel disgruntled, being a single mummy is a 24hr seven day a week job with no pay or holidays, which is fine when you are well and happy,  but rubbish when you are not. You will feel fed up.
  5. You will long for the days of when you had a live in partner. When cups of tea  and meals magically appeared from nowhere and the washing up was not your problem. You will remember when you had an Au pair and be wistful for those halcyon days  your eyes will well up.
  6. You will watch trash TV  on repeat (Say Yes to the  Dress anyone?)  and enjoy the formulaic mindlessness of it all because anything else is exhausting.
  7. You will pass on the free tickets you won in a competition  to  see  Pharell Williams  ( yes readers this really happened) because you are exhausted and can’t be bothered to queue with healthy people who  have the energy to stand up for more than 5 minutes at a time
  8. You will struggle to get dressed and consider going to the supermarket (the fridge is empty)   in your pyjamas.  You will forget that there is such a thing as online shopping.
  9. The teens will claim  there is no food in the house minutes) after you have been shopping  when what they mean is there is no food which takes less than 2 minutes in a microwave to prepare. You will  order Pizza.
  10. You won’t call anyone because you are too tired to talk.
  11. You will feel friendless as you have not spoken to an adult for days, this will not be true it’s just you are too ill to call then (see number 9)
  12. Your hair will stay gray for another weekend but you won’t care.
  13. The  reading for work you planned to do at home this weekend won’t get done.
  14. Any cups of tea the teens make for you will taste like nectar.
  15. Getting the shopping finally put away after 2 will feel like a massive victory .

Is there anything I have forgotten?
So friends how do you manage when you are ill, on your own with the kids and you still have to parent them feed them and keep the house going?


Let me know I would love to hear from you 😊

Till the next time

Single Mum Dawn