Aidan Anderson

EN 101

Narration Essay

2 October 2019

Single mothers vs the world

Paula Miranda, an American actress, fashion model, and single mother, once said,

“Remember that a single mom is just like any other mom and that our number one priority is still

our kids. Any parent does whatever it takes for their kids, being a single mother is no different”

("31 Single Mom Quotes On Struggle, Endurance, And Love"). Miranda makes a strong claim

about single mothers that I can affirm is true. Since I grew up with a single mother, I know how

hard my mom and other single moms work to provide for their kids. This is an issue described by

Katie Roiphe in her essay “In Defense of Single Motherhood,” which explains the challenges

single mothers face in today’s society. She explains how people believe single mothers are a “bad

thing for today’s society” ( 58), but they do not understand that single mothers develop close

relationships with their children, work hard to make sure they can provide for themselves and

their kids, and make sure their kids are their number one priority.

My mother and I have always been fairly close, but I really don't remember a time before

the divorce where the two of us spent time together alone. After I found out about the divorce, I

was heartbroken. At that time he was my best friend, then all of a sudden he was gone. I was

lonely. That's when my mom and I started to do more things one-on-one, such as going on

vacation and going to eat lunch every weekend. We grew so close to each other that I could tell

her anything just as best friends would. It is not like we were not close, we just never bonded as
much as me and my dad. I liked the idea of me and my mom getting close.

My mom and I were close after my parents' divorce, but in addition to making sure that

she supported me emotionally, she also had to support us both financially. She worked in the

emergency room at the hospital, which began taking its toll. She eventually made the choice to

go back to college to get a higher nursing degree. She was, therefore, juggling working full time,

taking care of me, and keeping up in her classes. Sadly, all of that became too much for her, and I

could tell. She was worn out and looked all-together miserable. Eventually, she quit her ER job

and her classes because she decided she wanted to open a wine bar, The Sip. She has always

loved wine and dreamed of becoming a business owner. By this time, it had been several years

since the divorce and she had met a new boyfriend, Andy. She told me he had two kids as well

and that didn't sound ideal to me at all, but once I met them, I knew they were perfect for us.

Since my mom got into a new relationship i knew it would be different, but that okay. As Roiphe

said, “In fact, women move in and out of singleness, married parents break apart, men and

women live together without marrying, spouses or partners die, romantic attachments form and

dissolve.” My mom was happier and less stressed. Our relationship grew stronger day by day.

We sat down and discussed how we would decorate the bar and what we should sell. She let me

help her paint, remodel The Sip, and it all came together. Seeing my mom happy made me

happy. She did something she loved with great risk, just so we could have more money in the

long run. We go on many vacations with our new family and even moved in together in a nice,

new house. With this new business, we had time to all be together every night and not stress

about work or how I would get to school that next day. Being a single mother does not mean it

will be hard forever. My mom helped me accomplish many things throughout this whole process
such as school work, friends, and family, and even my emotions.

My mother was my number one fan. I started high school, got my driver's license and she

still supported me through everything. She would help me with my homework every night just to

make sure I did well in the future. She would sit down with me and look at colleges and help me

decide what I wanted to do later on. I finally decided I wanted to be an orthodontist. She loved

that idea. My mom paid for every college class I needed to take in high school and sports fees

just so I could be happy and do well in school. While doing this, she was working at The Sip

while deciding whether to open a restaurant or not. This was another one of my mom’s dreams

other than The Sip. Andy and my mom decided they should, so they did. They opened Shooter’s

Taproom and Kitchen. While owning two businesses now, my mother got super busy. Having to

remodel, hire staff, and train them took a lot out of her. She was on her feet from 10 AM to 11

PM almost every day now. I would ask her if I could help in any way, and she would just say,

“No it’s ok, we can do it.” Knowing that she was so busy made my heart break. After a few

months of non-stop work, the restaurant was keeping steady and she finally got to have some

free days for me. They work so hard just for us kids to be happy and have a good life. No matter

how much work she takes on, I will always be her number one fan.

Single mothers have a lot of responsibility when it comes to their children. They have to

grow and develop a relationship with them while working hard to provide for them both. Single

mothers always try to make their children their main priority the best they can. As Miranda says,

a single mother is no different than two parents. They still make their kids their number one

priority and do whatever it takes to make them happy.

 Work cited

"31 Single Mom Quotes On Struggle, Endurance And Love." Spirit Button, 2020,

https://www.spiritbutton.com/single-mom-quotes/.