Juggling work and Family

What sacrifices have you made in life?

As a young single mom, I had two children under the age of two by the time I was 21. I made sacrifices for my children, as all parents do. However, because I was so young, I put my dream of becoming a photographer on hold and went to school to become a Registered Nurse in order to support my family.

I spent many years struggling to keep my kids well fed and well dressed. No hand me downs for them, although my clothes were all second hand to stay within my means.

At work in Community Mental Health, I was often called upon to make sacrifices too. If my clients were unwell or in need of an evaluation, they often needed help to engage with their family doctor and then to be taken, by referral, to the Psychiatric Hospital. This meant that there were no set hours for me. My time was their time when they were in crisis and it was important to me that they had my support. Clients whose families were distant, which was frequently the case, needed someone by their side when in a psychotic state or dying. I would sit beside them until admission to hospital or until their last breath.

My youngest son didn’t like to sleep over anywhere and so there were many very late nights when I would be picking him up after 11 pm and then curling up beside him in order to get him to settle in to sleep at home.

Juggling a work life and a family is always complicated but for a single Mom, its even more challenging, but it was worth every sacrifice.