Conscious Family Journal

Single Parent: More on the Joys of Raising Boys

    

Monday is cleaning day in the Brown household.

    

The timing is important, as I try to relax my obsessive compulsive tendencies over the weekends, in order to maximize enjoyment of “family time.”

 

(It’s one of those conscious parenting things that I am trying to do more of.)

    

This is not easy for me. I have to kind of intentionally blur my vision as I walk through the house, so that I don’t see all the dirty clothes and dishes and other objects that have been abandoned in unnatural places.

   

The stinky soccer uniform stuffed under the ottoman in the family room? Pay no attention. (And try not to wonder why son number one was getting undressed in the family room, anyway.)

    

Two crusty bowls of dried up oatmeal in bedroom of son number two? No big deal.

    

Three or four dozen DVD’s taken out of their cases and strewn across the floor? Reverse blurred vision to laser vision. Step carefully, please.

Totally Single Parenting

Single Mothers by Choice: Can we call this *extremely* conscious parenting?

   

The other night, I accompanied my younger son to the end-of-season pizza party for his basketball team. In attendance were eight fourth-grade boys, one younger brother, seven fathers and me.

 

At first, I felt a little awkward. Then, I remembered all the corporate meetings that I’ve attended over the years, where I was pretty much in the same situation. Once we get beyond the golf talk, these events usually go pretty well.

 

It’s not so bad, being the center of attention. On occasion.

 

Still, it is symptomatic of being a totally single parent. By that I mean, there is no current or former husband around for co-parenting duty. I adopted my children as a single mother and single I have remained.