There are times being a single mom feels like carrying the weight of the world.. and today I’m having one of those times.

My day started out well. Well, except for the fact my youngest woke up feeling sick to his stomach. I attributed it to the fact that 1) he is the pickiest eater in the WORLD (do moms of other picky eaters feel their kid is THE pickiest?) and, therefore, did not eat lunch that was offered to him at a friend’s house yesterday and 2) he, again being picky, didn’t like what I made for dinner, again choosing not to eat. {side note: I grew up with the understanding that if one was hungry enough, they would eat practically anything and, as a single mom who is domestically-challenged, I stick to that way of thinking} Following that hopeful outlook, I prepared him a bowl of oatmeal rather than making him wait to get to school to eat breakfast. Nope. His stomach had a different idea altogether.

OK, so I’ll adapt my day a little; it’s not the end of the world. Next up? My younger daughter called to get some loving words and consolation from mommy cause her wisdom teeth are hurting her SO bad she wanted to cry AND she was getting a migraine. I’m sure all you moms out there that have kids living ‘out of the area’ know exactly what I mean when I say “it hurt me to the core” not being able to comfort her. My words didn’t help. I can’t afford or even help to afford to get her in to a dentist or surgeon to have her wisdom teeth removed. I did do the only thing I could do.. I empathized with her pain and signed her up on the ‘reservation list’ for the state health plan. Seeing as how both her jobs are part-time, and one of them has pretty much completely cut her hours temporarily, she doesn’t have health insurance and has not taken the time to prioritize getting to the dentist. The most important lessons are the hardest to learn, aren’t they?

OK, another bullet in my day. Now it’s time to get on track and get something actually completed. How could I be so wrong? Did I ask how the day could get any worse, and forget I asked?!? No, I didn’t. I didn’t even think it. However, the phone still rang. And I answered it. And it was my oldest child’s friend letting me know that my daughter’s car had broke down on the freeway and she couldn’t call, would I please call her (she had texted me, but my phone was not near me). I thanked him for being the go-between and assured I would indeed call her right away. I dialed her number as I told my sick son and my nephew to ‘get dressed and get your shoes on’. She answered and let me know that her car had pretty much ‘exploded in a cloud of smoke’ and she was pulled over on the left side of the freeway! I told her I was out the door in 2 minutes and on my way. Luckily by the time I got there incident response had already been by and ‘pushed’ her car to the right side of the freeway, out of the danger zone. We called for a tow and, being informed the call was ‘priority’ since we were on the side of the freeway, waited a short time for the driver to arrive. We gladly greeted him and explained the situation. Our happiness quickly faded when it was explained that our roadside assistance only covered towing up to 3 miles and it was $3.75 per additional mile. Now why hadn’t I been told that on the phone when I called? “Grr” was what ran through my mind as I told the tow driver, “oh, ok.” A total of 19 miles and $60 later, I called my roadside assistance and inquired on the mileage allowance and the difference in my plan. I was informed I could upgrade from a Basic plan to a Plus plan for only $29 through the end of the current year membership. Really? Well, that would have been helpful BEFORE I spent $60 on towing.

It’s at this point in the day I realized that the “half full” attitude I try to keep had become the “almost empty” attitude. I now feel as if everything is caving in.. everything that needs to be done, everything that needs to be paid, everything I cannot afford to pay. I feel as though there is so much to do and it is crippling me. I’ve got that feeling — you know the one — there’s so much to do, where do I start?

So I’ll start by taking the weight off my shoulder, I’ll take a deep breath and ask myself, “what needs to be done next? What is priority numero uno?” And I’ll start there.

What ways do you have with coping when you feel overwhelmed by life and the tasks thrown your way? Does it debilitate you at times? Or do you have a sure-fire way to handle things before they get to be too much? I’d love to hear your comments.