What single moms really need...

(I wrote up this list during a frustrating evening at a discipleship class.  The topic was on single parenting, but should have been more correctly titled "Divorce Care".  I understand that there are very few single-parent families that fit my situation, but the needs of ongoing single parenting are much the same.)

• to be part of an involved extended family
• to have close friends who will stop by and tell a son/daughter that their mom loves them and deserves respect
• trustworthy men who will take sons of single moms along on manly-man outings with their own sons (hunting, fishing, 4-wheeling, doing yard work, fixing cars, etc.)
• extra grandparents to pour on the love and the discipline; we won't resent you telling them not to take a fifth cookie
• married friends who will live out godly marriages (complete with healthy disagreements) in front of the children
• occasional financial/material assistance; the gift of a women's retreat can save a single mom's life
• a day or evening off without the cost of a sitter
• offers of help with car maintenance, yard work, home repair, cooking, homework projects, or any other overwhelming task; we're usually pretty independent and hate to ask for help
• 48 hours in every day
• acceptance when their kids are dressed funny (if at all), when their children's hair sticks up and they have Saturday's lunch on their faces at Sunday school, when they've forgotten crucial information, when they come in 10 minutes late, when the darlings are screaming, when the task of being both mom and dad 24/7 becomes too much for one person alone
• and last of all introductions to eligible, wealthy, handsome men who want an instant family!