Are you ready to stop just surviving and start shining again, even as a single parent? The Shine Bright Guide can help you regain your time, energy, and sense of self.
I had one of those moments today that stops your mid-task, mid-thought, mid-scarcity spiral.
I was cleaning.
Laundry spinning.
Kids with their dad.
A quiet Sunday with a long to-do list and even longer thoughts.
You know the kind.
I was worried—again.
And then, while cleaning and folding laundry, I opened the dryer…
And everything I was stressing about had already been answered.
This post is about that moment, when the support doesn’t come from who you expected…
But comes anyway. When life shows you that it was never all on you. And maybe, just maybe, you were never meant to carry it alone.
Hello there! My name is Mina. Welcome to Work-Life Balance Hacks.
Here I share work-life balance tips, hacks for single parents, and self-care and wellness tips in my area of expertise as a health coach.
If you’re new, don’t miss these favorites:
How Will I Carry This?
Imagine this.
You’re exhausted. Again.
Planning your kid’s birthday (or kids’ birthday, in my case) while being tight on money (as always)?
You give them the party they asked for. Filled with kids, cake, and energy.
The kind of party they’ll remember. The kind I insisted on, even though I had no idea how I would pay for the rest of what they needed. Because that is what you’ve been doing all the time, protecting and providing. Because even if you’re a single parent doing it all alone, you show up.
And still, you’re thinking:
How will I afford their new clothes now? How do I stretch this life again?
You do the dishes. Meals. Groceries. You clean the bathroom. You fold the laundry.
And then it happens.
You open the dryer. And you find the answer, already there.
Clothes. Gifts. Everything they needed was already provided.
Not by you.
Not by the people who should’ve helped.
Not by the ones who texted “happy birthday” and disappeared.
But by friends of your children.
By their parents, who noticed.
By life.
By something bigger than you.
It’s Already Been Handled
I’m a single mom of three.
I’ve been in survival mode for years now.
I don’t have a partner to split bills with.
I don’t have parents to call.
I don’t have the “village” everyone loves to romanticize.
But today, that was the moment.
The one that slapped me in the face. Brought tears to my eyes.
Stop relying on people who don’t care. People who won’t show up. Stop thinking it’s all on you. Start believing in the bigger plan.
Because support doesn’t always come from who we expect.
It comes from who’s aligned.
Who’s present.
Who’s moved to care—not just watch you survive.
You Might Also Like These Posts for Single Parents Who Feel Like It’s All On Them
If this moment hit you deeply—if you’ve ever stood in your kitchen, laundry room, or car and whispered “I can’t keep doing this alone”—these posts are for you:
Master Work-Life Balance as a Single Parent
Practical strategies that respect your limits—and remind you of your strength.
What Keeps Single Moms Up at Night
A raw look at the invisible weight you carry, and how to begin unloading it.
Work-Life Balance for Single Moms: Sick Days, No Backup, and Still Showing Up
Because even on your worst day, you’re doing more than enough.
Hacks for Navigating 5 Big Life Events as a Single Parent
When the world doesn’t pause for your pain—how to move through it anyway.
Reality Check
Today, I was thinking of all the times I collapsed on the inside and still smiled on the outside.
All the times I made it work on a budget. I was thinking about writing my post, 35 money-saving hacks for single parents in the middle of a collapse.
All the times I walked into the grocery store with fear in my chest and still came out with enough to feed everyone. And the impact of terrible inflation on single-parent households.
And still—I worried.
Still—I believed it was all up to me.
But it wasn’t.
It never was.
This isn’t a motivational quote.
This is your reality check:
You’re not crazy.
You’re not too much.
You’re not wrong for being tired of doing it all.
But you were never meant to do it all. The pressure you feel to be everything and everyone?
That’s not parenthood.
That’s society’s broken system.
And you don’t have to carry it anymore.
This Is The Moment That Changes The Story
This is the shift.
This is your sign.
Support looks like:
- A mom who notices.
- A friend who gives without expecting.
- A kid who writes a “Happy Birthday” note on a gift.
- A moment that makes you stop and cry over laundry in a dryer because something bigger than you is clearly at work.
This is your reminder:
Support exists. It just may not come from who you thought.
But it comes. And it will come again.
You are not meant to suffer in silence.
You are meant to be held.
And if no one’s told you lately:
You’re doing better than anyone realizes.
And you’re more supported than you think.
Want more support like this?
Subscribe to the Shine Bright Letter—my weekly message for overworked parents tired of pretending they’re okay.
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This post is written by a single mother who gives her kids joy even while grieving. It is for the single parent who keeps showing up, without applause, backup, or rest.
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