• How to Be a Good Single Mum:
  
  
• Wake up! in the morning, go to your child and kiss & cuddle her.
• Make her breakfast and get her school/summer camp whatever stuff ready.
• Praise her for helping and for being good.
• Give her healthy food & good vitamins.
• Teach her manners.
• Tell her she’s smart & beautiful.
• Help her be strong and to stand up to kids when they hurt her feelings.
• Kiss & hug a lot and blow raspberries on her perfect little bum.
• Put a cute little tent under the tree in your front yard (buy cheap at garage sale like I did) and bring pillows, blanket, some books and a few toys and play with her.
  When you’re really busy trying to clean the house or something and keep getting interrupted by her and you’re getting annoyed, just stop what you’re doing (it’s not that bloody important, she needs you more!), just say “Screw it for now!” and kiss & cuddle, talk to her/with her and teach her or do something fun.
• Give her a dozen eggs, (past the due date, which I seem to have often), a big bowl, a whisk, maybe some flour, salt or sprinkles or whatever and let her go to town!
  Take her to Goodwill and let her pick some god-awful toy (you know, sometimes they’re old or dirty), or clothing that she really digs.
• Pick one day of the week when she can chose whatever she wants to do (in reason of course, like Disneyland doesn’t really count when you live in Denver and the brainwashing tube, TV is also a big no-no). She may choose a cool restaurant, a great park, a movie or simply stay at home but SHE gets to chose what you do together, like play dolls, teacher or whatever. In those 2 hours, you are not the BOSS, she is! Do this properly. Don’t get mad, don’t pick up the phone, and don’t try to control whatsoever. The kid will be SO happy about it!
• Forget about your stress, your worries, just create joy (you CAN actually DO this!) by laughing, by acting happy…keep doing this till you really are laughing, really do feel happy. Kids pick up on stress big time and it makes them very sad! It made me very sad when I was a child.
• Lastly, don’t try for joy in drugs or alcohol; get it from your child, the trees, the flowers, the fact that you have arms and legs, vision and hearing. See as your child sees, beauty in most everything, and newness in most everything. Create your own joy. You CAN do this!
  
  Love from me,
  Ingi