Trick-or-treat? (Somehow, I unwillingly chose trick)

Today I am giving a salute to all the single moms out there-- those who are geographically promoted to the main caregiver and those who have no relief in sight. Don’t let anybody fool you—there is no harder job than serving as a mom AND a dad. Add in a job, soccer practice, parent teacher conferences, and a much needed workout… and you have exactly 15 seconds to enjoy for yourself. Heck, I now order my shoes online (from my phone as I am parked in traffic), buy groceries when the only remaining option left is to cook the dog, and console myself with the belief that folding clothes is “me time” IF I listen to my iPod while I tackle the mountain of laundry. Throw in a holiday (such as Halloween) on a Monday, and you have all the necessary criteria to fall off the productivity ladder flat onto your butt.

That’s how my week started. This year, trick-or-treat fell on a very inconvenient Monday night. The same night that I had mandatory class, AND my youngest daughter fell onto the couch in a heap of tears proclaiming that she wanted to be a princess NOT a cat. The same night that my end of month reports were due by 5:00, AND I felt compelled to run six miles due to the fact that I ate enough candy corn to throw myself into a sugar coma. Yep, my inner witch had been released, and I mounted my broomstick to fight the traffic towards school while my kids dressed up in all of their various costumes and 20lbs of makeup and fake blood. I felt guilty for having to ask my parents to take my kids trick-or- treating. I felt guilty about eating my weight in candy. And I felt pissed that I had to juggle a thousand roles when all I wanted to do was watch Ghost Hunters Live (Don’t judge…) while I curled up in bed with a cup of chamomile tea.

Depressing, right? Feeling compelled to hire me a cleaning lady now? Well, fear not. You see, in every situation there is ALWAYS a little bit of magic, and being a single mom is no exception. Miraculously, class ended an hour early, traffic was insanely light that night, and I made it home just in time to watch my kids trick-or-treat at one last house before calling it a night. They walked in the door, attacked the candy, and ALL curled up in my bed to watch “Catching Bigfoot”. Nope, it wasn’t “Ghost Hunters”. Nope, I didn’t get to take any of the usual pre-Halloween photos. Nope, I didn’t finish my end of month reports until November 1st. But that’s ok-- For eight blissful hours I slept with all my little goblins (and one feline-princess) as I thanked God that they were all a part of my life. Life can be hectic and out-of-your-control situations may threaten to bring you down, but all it takes is one enchanting moment to balance the universe once again. And the real magic is this... I have yet to meet a single mom that EVER takes a moment with their kids for granted. Time is precious, single mothers understand this universal truth.

And for those that are still exhausted from the Monday night holiday that tossed us under the productivity bus try this: wait until the kids are sleeping, sneak downstairs into the kids’ loot bags, and steal a Take-5 candy bar. Trust me…. It’s like a little bit of heaven.

(The Halloween cat/princess/track star... Most dilemmas have multipe possible solutions)