Lifestyle
16 Of The Scariest Things About Dating As A Single Mom
Image: TriStar Pictures
Not very many people plan on being a single mom. We say not very many people because yes, there are moms who start out as single moms and they are amazing! But for many of us, single motherhood was not in the cards. We met someone, we fell in love, maybe we got married. Had a kid or two, maybe three or four. Things were going great. Then suddenly, they weren’t. The bottom fell out, as it it wont to do. And suddenly, we’re of a certain age with some kids and single. Do you have any idea how scary that is?! It’s terrifying. The idea of starting over, at our age, WITH KIDS, is enough to turn any single mama into a hermit. But we want love! We want it all, OK? So we date. Well, we attempt to date. Turns out, dating as a single mom is about as easy as anything having to do with being a single mom.
There is just so much more to consider now that we have kids. We can’t just hit the bar and look for cute guys to pick up! OK, maybe we can do that, but like, not on a school night. Or every other weekend. We can’t bring hook-ups home. We can’t spend a full Sunday strolling through local farmer’s markets. Our bodies are not what they were 10+ years ago. They’re BETTER, in our opinion, stretch marks and all. But we’re not winning any lingerie contests, is what we’re saying. The bags under our eyes could fill the bra we no longer fill with our actual boobs. And we have little people to look after, who rely on us for everything. It’s hard out there for a single mom. How hard, you ask? Well, these are some of the most common fears single moms have when they re-enter the dating world.
Our physical bodies are amazing. They bore children! But now we’re competing against 20-somethings who spend all their time at the gym.
Image: Touchstone Television
Actual footage of us at the gym! But seriously, who has time to get all fit and fabulous when you accidentally joined the PTA and they actually want you to do stuff? Our bodies are a wonderland, we know this. Deep down, we know this! But we also know that not everyone will see our stretch marks and post-nursing gym-sock-filled-with-wet-sand boobs in quite the same light. It’s so hard to get comfortable in these new bodies with partners who have been there through it all. With someone new? Positively petrifying. Dating as a single mom means showing it all, even the not so great stuff. And it’s hard to get comfortable with that.
