Patience, devotion, unconditional love, best friend, role model, and Super Hero/Heroine…What do these entire ingredients make mixed up together...a single parent. Single parenthood is an extremely challenging task to accomplish alone. You are the mother and father to your children.Today in the United States, being raised by a single parent is not uncommon. Almost three in ten children live within a single parent home (Risman, 1988). The most common type of single parent home is usually only the mothers the parent. Single parents are more likely to include their children in day-to-day running of the family. Children of single parents may share more responsibility of chores and looking after themselves than other children of two parent homes. Single parents often discuss with their children that parents of two parent homes discuss with each other (e.g. the shopping list, what to do for the holidays).In the United States, a large percentage of single mothers have children at a younger age than most married women. More single mothers fail to graduate from high school and are unable to obtain a college education. Women, opposed to men have higher paid jobs with or without extended education. Some studiers conclude that women generally have lower paying jobs (Mulkey, 1992). My mother had me at the age of seventeen. My mother dropped out of school prior to my being conceived. I also had my first child at a young age of sixteen. My mother and I did not get along well as I was growing up. I have two younger brothers that are twins; there is three years difference in age. I was the mother to my brothers and also my mother. My mother was working a lot to support us, and I was the babysitter, housekeeper, cook, and homework helper all of my childhood. Growing up, besides my differences with her, I looked to my mother as a strong, independent woman, who had a lot on her plate of life.My grandfather died in April of 1992, and that is when I became the mother to my mother. My grandfather was the glue that held our family together. He was my families mentor and best friend. My grandfather adopted my mother when she was two years old. My grandfather was a high ranking officer in the Air force, but he was always there for my mother when no one else was. My mother had a traumatic childhood, loosing both her biological parents to an automobile accident. Once we found out of my grandfathers cancer, I knew it was only a matter of time before I lost him and my mother. My mother went into a deep state of depression and was diagnose with Post Traumatic Syndrome which lead to the outcome of her split personalities. My mother was not able to work, and she began receiving welfare benefits and social security benefits to support us. My duties became more of an overload on me. My mother and I fought daily on the way I would take care of her and her house. At age fourteen, I couldn't handle it anymore, my brothers were eleven and they were able to look after themselves....
