RE: Being A Single Mother: The Never Ending Chase
LEL That you are able to recognize you are trying to do too much is good. That you are trying to do too much is even better. I promise you will never regret doing something for you daughter.
My exes parental rights were terminated in 1993, when my eldest was two. As a single father working construction, I failed serially, but still raised great kids. I homeschooled, and taught my sons math by paying them $10/hr to pull tape on sheetrock jobs, carry soil when repairing foundations, and whatever it took to keep them at my side, where I could do my duty to them to teach them.
It paid off in a lot of ways, but I never will shake the certainty I failed them in even more. One thing I realized is that good kids aren't going to be stopped from being good adults by any impediments that arise during their childhood, and I should have relaxed a bit.
TBQH, the only regrets I have are of those moments when I didn't put my kids first. Due to the incredible love we feel for them, these regrets are like acid on our soul. I recommend avoiding those particular regrets, at any cost.
Mostly, I recommend you enjoy every smile on her face. It just doesn't get better than that.
Thank you so much for sharing your story along with mine. It can be challenging finding that balance between taking care of them and taking care of ourselves. But I think we must care for ourselves in order to give them our best. So it's an ever evolving balancing act. Kudos to you for doing what any parent should do, so many fathers do not. I'm sure your kids don't think you failed them when you did everything for them. Thank you again for sharing!
Amazing that you were able to homeschool and work, as a single parent!