Are you a single mom, or do you act like one because your S.O. is away often? Or are you happily married but grew up in a home with a single mom, or have friends who are single moms? This podcast episode is for you everyone that needs support or is looking for the best ways to be a supportive friend.
This time, I wasn’t able to get my mom on for the interview we had planned – that will come later – but I delve into my own experience growing up with a single mom and what I’ve learned from it. Ultimately, I want to give you 3 ways to be a supportive friend for single moms you know, because they really do need it.
Today’s Goals: Identify the hard-working moms in your life who need a helping hand, even if they’d never reach out and ask for it. Then, dedicate at least one time a month to implementing ways to be a supportive friend, no strings attached.
IN THIS EPISODE, I TALK ABOUT:
- What it was like to grow up with a single mom, divorce, and moving constantly to stay afloat
- How to find ways to be a supportive friend so your mom friends can find time for self-care
- Assisting your single mom friends in daily chores and tasks that get forgotten or backed up
- Offering a listening, nonjudgemental ear when your single mom friends need it most
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Episode 3 Transcript: 3 Ways To Be A Supportive Friend
Hello and welcome to the Making Mommy Moves show. This is your host, Alyssa Morton. I am a mom of two, wife, event floral designer, serial entrepreneur, and becoming increasingly aware of power of mindset. I am so happy and thankful that you’re here. I’m on a mission to help empower moms to create a lifestyle of wealth, health, fulfillment and happiness so that you can become the very best version of yourself and live a life you love. Three days a week I am bringing you inspiring stories, strategies and tips to feel empowered to create a lifestyle you love. So stay tuned, and let’s get into it.
Hi Mommy friends, welcome to another episode of Making Mommy Moves show. I was hoping to be able to get my mother on this interview with me today, but we had to postpone it for a later date. So I’m flying solo on this one. I had this idea that I was inspired about that I really wanted to talk about, so I didn’t have time to set up the studio and I’m just coming live to you on this video recording platform: Riverside, to be exact.
So on today’s episode I want to talk about the single working mom life. I know that many of you moms out there can relate to it. And even though all of us that are happily married, you may have grown up with a single mom like I did or have friends or family members that you can support through their struggles of the single working mom lifestyle.
So to give you friends a little backstory, my parents did not have a good relationship. I really question if they should have been married all honestly. But a month before my 16th birthday, they made it official and separated and not too long after made it officially official with divorce. So the single mom lifestyle began long before the official separation and divorce. My father was a severe alcoholic. I can’t speak too much to their relationship, I have blocked a lot of it out honestly. That’s why I really wanted to get my mom on the show to share her story with you all, but I can speak for how freaking hard working my mom is.
She worked to get her teaching degree while working multiple jobs. Literally any freaking job that she could work. She was doing it all and raising three kids and not too long after, she welcomed the fourth. So single moms are next level empowering. We can all take a lesson from them. And I want to share some ways that I’ve seen that are helpful for these moms that we can support them.
So some things I noticed growing up with a mom didn’t take care of herself. Now, of course, she makes it a priority. She builds self care into her calendar. But there were far too many years that she didn’t take a spa day. She didn’t get a haircut, make time for the workout and sometimes didn’t even shower. So lesson number one I want to give my friends out there that want to support their single mom friends: lend a helping hand any way that they can. So it’s important that we all have some self care right? So maybe make some time to go over and watch the kids so she can squeeze in a workout at the gym and a shower because you know that we don’t get showers alone anymore.
Then maybe you can schedule some time for a massage for her for spa appointments which she can get her nails done, anything facial, and then maybe alone time just so that she could take a nap. Because we know how freaking hard that they work every single day. Once a month at least give her some time be her friend and support her.
So something else I noticed growing up was that my mom struggled with having to move homes every year. We couldn’t afford the rental increases every single year. So we would move to a new house and that required me, my siblings, my mom… and really that was it, to do the heavy lifting of the actual moving. And then not just that like taking care of the home after we moved in. So she worked multiple jobs obviously, took care of us after work, figured out how to get food on the table and put us down and then sleep because you’re exhausted. We need help with that. They need help with that.
So anything that you can do to support them through their daily routine is helpful. Help them with a home cooked meal, help them clean their house and do laundry – because I can assure you that they’re backed up on laundry – lend a helping hand if they’re having to move houses with your work, anything. If you have a service to use or a recommendation of a handyman, send them over because I can assure you they need help.
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So lesson number two is to help them in any way shape or form that they need in their daily life.
Finally, I know that there’s like a lot of things that we could talk about on here and I could go forever on this but I want to make it as short as possible for you guys. Any time that you have is limited. So I appreciate anything that you give to me and I want to be respectful of that. I’ll keep this short for you.
So the final thing I noticed was that my mom struggled with happiness. Of course she loved all of her kids and they made her beyond happy but she didn’t have many friends. She didn’t have any hobbies. She didn’t get to do anything because she was always working. So most of her friends were lost in the waiting for the divorce stage. You know the one. So by the time it finally happened, they were no longer friends anymore.
So my final lesson to all you out there that want to support your mom friends is to stay their friend. Listen to them when they need to vent. They already know that their spouse their baby-daddy, whoever, is likely no good for them. And they don’t need you to remind them. Just listen to them. Let them vent, check up on them, get them out of the house with their kids do fun things with them, remind them that you’re with them and that you’re there with them whenever they need it and make it known that there are no strings attached. That’s the key word right there – no strings attached.
Okay, well, that’s all for today’s episode, tag me @lyss.morton on Instagram and Tiktok with your biggest takeaway from the show, share some other ways that you can help support your single working moms and tag your badass best friends to remind them that you think that they’re the most amazing mom in the world. All right, cheers. See you next month. Bye!
Thank you so much for tuning in and listening all the way through on the Making Mommy Moves Show. Make sure to subscribe anywhere that you’re listening to podcasts, and I would really appreciate a kind and honest review of the show. That’s how more moms will be able to find our podcasts and listen to each week with you.
Copy the link, share it with your friends on social media. I will be forever grateful. I’m so happy and proud of you for making the first mommy move by listening to the show. Until next time, I encourage you to keep up the momentum but continuing to make mommy moves along with me. Talk soon!
RESOURCES
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CONNECT WITH LYSS:
Follow me: @lyss.morton
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