Another weird and wonderful week has passed and I am very anxious (if not a little terrified) to see what the next few weeks bring.
This blog started as a place to document the random situations I seem to get myself in. Remember the tooth incident?! Well, as the blog has developed, I have received numerous messages of encouragement, which is something I really never expected. I have been contacted (*queue the trumpets*) by people with children, people without children, people who have gone through a break up, and people who are still together, saying that (somehow) I have encouraged them to have a more positive outlook on life. I was told that my ‘YOLO’ attitude rubbed off on someone enough to give them the courage to leave an abusive relationship, and I have been told that my ‘YOLO’ attitude rubbed off on someone enough to make them pack in their job, and spend the next year travelling the world, now that their kids have grown up and left home.
I now find myself in a catch 22. I want to spread a positive message. I want to try to encourage people to take all of the rubbish situations that life throws at us, and to believe that we all have the ability, or more importantly, the right, to be happy. Trust me, I’ve been in many situation where I look up at the sky whilst wailing “WHY MEEEE?”, (in a very over-dramatic, theatrical way), so now I am trying to fill my half empty glass with written messages of positivity, in the form of blog posts.
My ultimate dream is to be able to monetise my blog so I get to spend more time with my little Molly Beau. Every time she is returned from her Fathers house she has grown 2ft and sounds like she has swallowed a Thesaurus. So, if anyone is reading this and fancies paying my rent so I can spend more time with my (not so) little girl, then I shall be more than happy to ping you my bank details.
To continue the theme of ridiculousness, you will be pleased to know that the following happened within one week:
- My temporary tooth (yes I know, they really are terrible) fell out, as I bit a banana.
- The Exhaust fell off the car, while I was in Brighton, on a Tuesday evening.
- I appeared on RADIO! I was the Newspaper Reviewer for BBC Radio Kent.
- My laptop somehow started blaring out some hardcore house music whilst on the packed commuter train to Cannon Street (2nd time this has happened to me this year) and I was too flustered to make it stop quickly.
- My Nan feared for mine and Molly’s well-being after presuming I had been visiting ‘Gentleman’s Clubs’ (A recent post descried a cocktail bar being decorated as a ‘Victorian Gentleman’s Club’) Don’t worry though Nan, I’m not going to turn into a stripper any time soon. Although that does lead me to the last (and most terrifying) thing…
- I appeared in the Sun Newspaper.
I wasn’t page 3 (Perhaps I could suggest a ‘Mummy’s page 3? – The art of being able to knock your La-Las with your Knees?’) but I did feature as ‘Part Time Parent’ with the headline: “Single mum says spending only four days with her daughter leaves her time for hobbies like DJing”
OK, so maybe that is not necessarily the the message that I am trying to get across! I am not trying to promote the ‘benefits’ of being a ‘Part Time Parent’ and how great it is to have ‘free time’. The reality is, anything I do with Molly is much more fun than anything I do on my own, but circumstances mean I have time without my daughter, so I want to use that time effectively.
It is a controversial subject and everyone is entitled to their opinion but the way I see it, is that if two people make a child, then two people have a ‘right’ to have that child. I would never dream of limiting Molly’s time with her dad, why should I?! What gives me the right to do that? I guess I am trying to spread a more positive message about CoParenting, and to try to tap through the archaic presumption of struggle and unhappiness. I definitely do not wish criticise other peoples parenting, or encourage people to ‘do chores when they are not with their children’ (I would like to think that the message I am trying to spread has a little more depth to it than housework!).
Now the Jury is out. It is in the public for others to judge and although I told myself I wouldn’t read any of the comments, I did have a little skim through some of them and I was pleasantly surprised at how positive the reaction was to ‘Coparenting’. Billy (Molly’s Dad) has been amazing. We encourage each other to do what makes us happy. And as for Molly? Well, I don’t think I need to justify the intensity of love I have for that little bundle of awesomeness.
So here’s my catch 22… I want to make money from my writing, so I get to see more of Molly. But I don’t want to be in the public eye, only to be told that I am a terrible mother who is incredibly selfish. I shall just have to remember that any written negativity will only be used as next weeks Fish and Chip paper, and remind myself that even if this blog never goes anywhere, the fact that my ‘YOLO’ rubbed off on a few people people enough for them to make some pretty awesome decisions, then it has been more than worth it.
I won’t start handing out autographs just yet, but do make sure you pick up a copy of my 2017 Calendar as I only have 750,000 available to pre-order…
(…If you wish to read about how I have declared myself a better mother (apparently) then head to ‘Featured’ page)
The Adventures of A Part Time Parent 