We do not run off statistics.

I want to tell a story about a good friend of mine who came into my life at an amazing time. The day Jeremy (Taylor's dad) moved out a friend, whom I had hardly known at that moment, moved in. He needed a place and I was not ready to live alone. As I think back to it now it could not have worked out better. At first Jeremy started with visiting Taylor constantly which lasted about a month and after that he acted like it was a chore to even come say hi to her. I remember him coming into the apartment complex to see his friends and avoiding our window so Taylor wouldn't see him. Within a few months he moved to Indiana to be with his new woman and got married shortly after that. He left May 2010 and since then has seen Taylor less then 10 times. Taylor last say her dad Jan 2011 and last spoke with him Oct 23. Meanwhile a friend of mine came into our home and began helping me with Taylor. This friend had not been able to see his own daughter very much and missed her terribly. The first year to year and a half I truly think that this friend helped Taylor in a way that I would have never in my life been able to fill. She responded with helping his heart heal a little as well. They became like best friends....the best adopted uncle a kiddo could ever ask for. It is funny how God puts people in your life at just the right time. I at times wonder if this friendship she has with my friend has been one of the factors of her being so positive about not having a dad around. Taylor never gets sad or worried about Jeremy not being in her life and even comes to her own conclusions about it without me saying anything. She refers to him being gone as, "My daddy ran away". She says constantly that she has a daddy but he ran away and is busy. I never have put anything in her head about him as I believe she should come up with her own ideas about who Jeremy is. I do however answer her questions in an honest manner and try not to get annoyed when she crys for her dad which used to only happen when she was in trouble....thank goodness we made it past that stage. Taylor has been handed a pretty awesome card in her life to have such amazing people surround her and shower her with love. I can not wait to see how she changes the world when she is grown as she has already touched many peoples hearts. As for Jeremy, I do hope that he realizes that he still has a daughter in the world whom is his blood and if he doesn't ever come around again I know that Taylor will grow to be awesome anyway. I have made a promise to myself that I will NEVER fall into the statistics trap about children being raised by single parents. My daughter is going to be just as awesome as any child who has both parents and knowing how strong she already is I know she will not feed into that either. Life is completely manageable as a single parent. It is not only manageable but in my case is such a happier situation than what would have ever been possible before. Don't ever think you can not do it. Do not ever think that you will fail because of finances or even just the feeling of being lonely. There is never a reason to stay in a situation which is unsafe or dysfunctional because you are scared of what it will do to your children. We get to teach our children how amazing they are and how their situation is a blessing not a curse or a cause for a pity party. :)