010: Wisdom From a Mom With Two Older Kids

Christine is a firefighter and the single mother of a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old. In today’s interview, she shares about the difference between the way she pictured her adult life growing up and the way her adult life actually played out. She talks about moving from the Midwest to California, changing careers, delaying motherhood, and then finally deciding to become pregnant via IUI.

Christine talks about her lightbulb moment – the moment she realized that she would be OK if she never found a partner and got married, but that she’d always regret it if she didn’t have children. She describes how that realization led her to become a single-mother-by-choice.

In today’s discussion, Christine talks about how her friends and support network factored into her decision to have children and the process of becoming pregnant. She explains how being a single mother has shaped her relationship with her children, and how she balances a career as a firefighter with being a single mother of two.

Christine believes that it’s important to remember that families come in all sorts of varieties and that the important thing is the love that family members have for each other. Her story emphasizes the importance of embracing families of all kinds.

Some highlights of today’s conversation:

•         Christine’s early life and dreams of being a mother
•         Christine’s move from the Midwest to California and career changes
•         How Christine came to the conclusion that it was time to pursue motherhood
•         Christine’s experience using a donor to become pregnant
•         How Christine’s friends helped her narrow down her donor choices
•         The financial aspects of getting pregnant via IUI
•         The differences between being a single mother by choice or a single mother not by choice
•         The thing that most surprised Christine about her path
•         How Christine thinks being single has shaped her relationship with her kids
•         How Christine would advise other moms
•         Juggling a career as a firefighter with raising kids
•         How Christine settled on having two kids
•         Why Christine wishes she’d started her family earlier

Resources:

Motherhood Reimagined Website

Motherhood Reimagined SMC Community

Motherhood Reimagined: When Becoming a Mother Doesn’t Go As Planned: A Memoir by Sarah Kowalski

Sign up to be a podcast guest

Thank you for joining us for Motherhood Reimagined. You can contact us through the website or Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.

Also, if you are wanting some guidance on this unconventional path, consider joining my Motherhood Reimagined SMC Community.

Inside my community, you get regular live guest expert interviews, community meetups, Ask Me Anything Calls, all my courses and of course connection to other single women at different stages of their SMC journey. 

If you want a more private interaction with me, then consider indvidual coaching. You get up to 2 calls per month with me, voicemail and text access as well as access to all my content and done for your research.

Quotes:

"It really helped to have an endpoint and not just to go in with an open credit card and let’s go. Because that would have been a mistake for me.” –Christine

“It’s one thing to get pregnant, but you’ve got to raise that baby, and you need some money to raise that baby.” –Christine

“I’ve always said to my children, as long as there’s love, there’s a family. It doesn’t matter who’s in it, as long as there’s love, there’s a family.” –Christine