This past weekend, the parents that I babysat for left my brother and I with three kids under the age of five to watch... for four days. For one of those days, I was completely on my own, without anyone to help me. That means, cooking, cleaning, watching, engaging, playing, laughing, helping, dressing, and changing the diapers for three children... alone. Needless to say, it was a lot of work, even when my brother was there to help me.

See, I’m almost 22 years old, and I can’t even fathom having children of my own. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love these kids a lot, but am I ready to give up my social life? Or being able to do anything at the drop of a hat? To fly across the world without a second thought for a child? Honestly, no, not really.

I think that’s okay though. The one, well, two things I realized over the weekend was: 1) my brother is actually really helpful and 2) I am way to selfish to have kids.

I was so busy trying to keep the kids alive that I didn’t have time to look at Facebook or Instagram, I couldn’t sleep in until whenever I wanted, I couldn’t even go to Starbucks to get a coffee without having to think of the little ones I was taking care of.

I couldn’t be on my phone for all hours of the day, I couldn’t just “take a nap” whenever I was tired, and I most certainly couldn’t leave the kids at home while I went to get some caffeine. (And if I did bring them, then it would be a whole ordeal to get them in the car and packed up, just to unpack them and run in, possibly wait in a very long line, while I just grab a small coffee? Yeah, that would have gone over well.)

The more I realized that I wasn’t ready to have children just quiet yet, the more I thought about the other women that weren’t just there for the weekend.

You could argue that a woman adopting a child was her own choice and she should have known what she was getting into, but honestly, who would have helped that child if she didn’t?

You could argue that, even though her husband died, she still has family and friends to help her out, but honestly, can you imagine how hard it is to go from having a partner to help raise your children to having to figure it out on her own?

You can argue that if a girl got pregnant out of wedlock from having unprotected sex it was her choice to do so, but honestly, what good does that do for her?

Here is a woman, who, mistake or not, made a choice, or had a choice made for her and now, as a result, has a little person to watch because of it.

And it’s to that woman who I want to encourage- who I want to empower, because she is freaking awesome.

She could have gotten rid of her unborn baby because it didn’t fit into her plans in life, but she didn’t. She stuck through it and now has another set of trials before her.

She could have told the agency that she didn’t want the child, but she didn’t.

She works through the tired, early mornings as a result of late nights catching up on laundry and making sure her house looks presentable. She sacrifices the things she wants to do with the things she needs to do for the little person she created.

She works hard for her family- and sometimes without any support.

She loves unconditionally and without restraint for the tiny person holding her hand and calling her mama.

She give up her time and energy to make sure that her child can be the best that they can be, and they will because they have the strongest woman behind them to back them up.

So this for all your single mothers, who, for whatever reason, have taken on this responsibility of raising part of the next generation by yourself. You may have hard days, weeks, or even months, but the effort you put into loving your children every day, is not going to waste.

I don’t know how you do it, but just know, you’ve got someone in your corner cheering your along the way.