Parents share a unique bond with their children. They support you in every way possible and love you unconditionally. They can do it together as a couple or they can do it separately. In a divorce, parenthood is not always split equally. It’s not divided in half like people expect. Single mothers are a different species. They are warriors and their weapons are schedules and SUVs. Their catch phrases are, “Because I said so,” and “If you don’t quit right now I swear I will…” They are terrifying, wonderful and a masterpiece all at the same time. Single mothers deserve a Father’s Day.

To My Mom:

Thank you for always being there for me. When you and dad split, I was bitter. I was a teenager overcome with the overpowering hormones teenagers deal with, but you didn’t give up. You held me while I cried. You always knew the right things to say. Your hugs were Band-Aids and still are.

Thank you for always making ends meet. Being a single parent and supporting four kids is not easy. I can’t even support myself on a single paycheck. To this day, I still don’t know how you do it. I am always amazed by your forgiveness. As you know, forgiving people is not a strength for me. You always deal with the situation at hand and simply move on. Your life is too chaotic to hold on to grudges. You live in a perpetually stressed out world. It’s something I couldn’t do. How do you always put yourself last and put us first? I can only pray that one day I am as benevolent as you.

Thank you for teaching me how to do things on my own. Thank you for being the head of the household. Thank you for always taking care of my taxes and giving me gas money. Thank you for liking all of my Instagram posts and reading all of my articles. Thank you for paying for my college education in the hope that I will make something of myself. Thank you for teaching me how to cook and not getting mad when I burn or break everything I touch in the kitchen. Thank you for putting a roof over our heads and making it a beautiful home, at that. If I become a mother, then I hope to be even half the mom you are.

If you live with your single mother, then thank her. Thank her for putting you first. Thank her for giving up her free time to be not only a mom but a dad, too. Thank her for supporting you in all the ways she could. Thank her for juggling the chaotic world of motherhood. Of course, all moms have different parenting styles, but they all want one thing: the safety and happiness of their child. Being a mom is a full-time job and being a single parent is overtime. Your mom took the role of mother and father, and it can’t be easy. Thank her, hug her and rename Father's Day to “Mother’s Day Round Two.”