Its a hard knock life

I'm adjusting to lone parenthood and it seems you just keep doing what you've been doing. Looking after the child, doing the shopping, maintaining the home; everything you did before but now with a slightly different tint on it.

It is more often than not the small things that bring you up and bring you to tears.
Another form to fill in that asks your marital status - married, single, partner, divorced, widowed. I feel like adding my own box "dumped".

The frustration that to get a takeaway you have to wait two hours for delivery on a busy Friday but if there was someone to stay with the sleeping child you could go and collect it and have your supper in half an hour. So no takeaway and have an omlette instead.

Then of course there are the larger stresses.

That the benefits you need are held up because your child doesn't exist to this agency until they have a number from that agency, when that agency are within their eight week limit and can't tell you more than your form is being processed.

To have to explain to the estate agent that you will pay the rent but not until Monday as this when your benefits will be paid in, yes you know it is late but there is no more you can do.

But in all this you have your child and she is your joy every day. To watch her learning and developing day by day and moment by moment.