Tribute to Single Parents

Tribute to the Single Parent
It takes courage to stand and not give way,
To find a brand new smile each day,
And not to repine at ones single state,
(Nor cast aspersions at an absent mate)
It takes faith to tackle the duel role
of the single parent. To put one's soul
into the hard and endless chore
of putting the pieces together once more.
It takes love - the deep abiding kind -
To trust all thought of self from mind
And to face the future all dismayed,
It takes enough to be Dad or Mum
But to be both! That calls for some
hidden quality, talent or power,
that has lain dormant until this hour,
but if you've courage enough to fight
and faith to know your way is right,
With love for the children within your care,
These plus that extra, will take you there,
And think, if you're Mum or Dad,
theres twice as much good as well as bad,
Twice as much love will be given you,
Enough to last your whole life through,
So do not shrink nor hide indoors,
Go out and mingle, the world is yours,
Hold your head high, stand straight and tall,
For although stricken, you did not fall.

author unknown

Being a Parent

How many times have your kids insisted:
"You don't love me!"
And how many times have you, as a parent, resisted the urge to tell them how much?
Some day, when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a mother, I will tell them...
I loved you enough to be concerned about where you were going, with whom and what time you would get home.
I loved you enough to insist you buy a bike with your own money even though I could afford it and you couldn't.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover your hand picked friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to make you return a chocolate bar with a bite out of it to the milk bar and confess "I stole this"
I loved you enough to stand over you for 2 hours while you
cleaned your room ... a job I could have done in 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, disgust and tears in my eyes.
I loved you enough not to make excuses for your lack of tact, respect or your bad manners.
I loved you enough to admit that I was wrong and ask for your forgiveness.
I loved you enough to ignore what every other mother did or said.
I loved you enough to let you stumble, fall, hurt and fail.
I loved you enough to let you assume responsibility for your own actions, at 6, 10 or 16.
I loved you enough to assume you would lie about the party being chaperoned, but forgave you for it ... after discovering I was right.
I loved you enough to push you off my lap, let go of your hand, be mute to your pleas and insensitive to your demands ... so that you had to stand alone.
I loved you enough to accept you for what you are, not what I wanted you to be.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it.... That was the hardest part of all.