How I Became a Strong Single Mom?

(Baonghean.vn) - I became a “single mom” at the age of 24. Many times I thought that I would not be able to stand up after so much suffering. But watching my little son grow up day by day, that suffering gradually faded away and disappeared with time...

I became a single mother at the age of 24. Illustration: Nguyen Hong

In my life dictionary, I have never imagined the three words “single mother”. Because I had a beautiful love lasting 6 years with my boyfriend in the same commune. The result of that love was a wedding filled with happiness, family, relatives and friends happily congratulated. Happiness multiplied when we gave birth to a lovely son.

My husband is an introvert. He loves me very much but never shows it to me. When our son was born, he took care of me even more. I live happily with my husband and son. I used to think that a woman's happiness is enough: a loving, caring husband; a well-behaved, healthy child.

When my son turned 1 year old, the storm began to creep into my happy little home. After giving birth, I stayed home to take care of my son. My business temporarily stopped. At the same time, I heard the neighbors gossiping that my husband had a mistress outside.

At first, I did not believe those indirect words. But I still could not help but pay attention to my husband's actions and attitudes. Gradually, I realized that the man I used to live with had many strange signs. He started coming home late and sometimes staying out overnight. When I asked, my husband just answered vaguely that he had work.

When he was at home, he kept his phone in his hand and texted all day long. I was busy taking care of the children so I didn’t have time to check on him. One time, I accidentally discovered a message my husband sent to a strange phone number with extremely sweet words, like two lovers texting each other. I was extremely confused, everything before my eyes suddenly seemed to spin.

After calming down, I asked my husband directly about those messages. At first, he flatly denied it, giving this and that excuse. Although I was skeptical, I remained calm, kept quiet, and acted as if nothing had happened.

Shortly after that, for some reason, my husband publicly revealed our affair right in front of me and the public. Our relationship began to crack more and more. Arguments were a regular occurrence. Many times I was physically and mentally abused by my husband. I was extremely hurt by the betrayal, but I was even more hurt when I saw my little son witnessing such terrible scenes.

My spirit was down, I got sick again and again. Every night, my eyes were wide open until the next morning. I felt sorry for myself, and even more sorry for my son. My husband's parents knew what was going on and loved me very much. They took care of me like their own daughter. I was sick all the time. I tried my best to get my husband to come back to me and my son. There was gentleness, affection, and even begging, and I humbled myself. But my husband had no intention of changing or returning to the family home. On the contrary, if there was a fight or argument between us, my husband would stand up to protect his lover as if that woman was his own wife.

I was in extreme pain when I thought of my husband with another woman. We fought like that for over a year. During that time, I felt like my body had lost its soul. Life suddenly became a torture for me.

My husband asked for a divorce. At this point, I really felt stuck. If we divorced, my son would become a fatherless child. But if we continued this life, neither me, my husband, nor my son would be happy. Perhaps fate had decided, I thought so and painfully decided to let my husband go with that woman...

My son and I started a new life.

My son and I started a new life, a life without the shadow of that unfaithful man.

More than a year has passed, I started trading again. My son is growing up. He can walk, talk, understand his mother's confidences and also know how to comfort her when she is sad. I threw myself into work and devoted all my love to my son.

Being quick and active, my business is going quite smoothly. My son is 2 years old and has started preschool. Apart from the hours of worrying about work or when he goes to school, the rest of the time my son and I are together, taking care of each other in every little way.

Watching my little son grow up day by day, I feel both pity and sadness. At the same age as my son, everyone has a father and a mother to take them out, to go here and there. But my son lacks the love of a father. Wherever he goes, it is just the two of us, mother and son, alone. Sometimes he asks: "Where is dad going, mom?", I wipe away my tears and lie to him: "Daddy is on a business trip, son!" At times like that, I suddenly feel extremely sorry.

The saddest thing is when my son or I get sick. Grandparents are sometimes busy and tired, so mother and son just take care of each other. Together we take the bus to the city to see a doctor. Together we take care of each other when we are in the hospital. At 2 years old, my son seems to be more mature than his age and understands things better than his peers. When his mother is sick, he knows how to play well with his grandparents. Seeing his mother cry, she is sad and runs to comfort her: "Mom, don't cry, you can't cry, I love you!" and then hugs me.

My son and I lived like that from day to day. I alone took on the roles of both mother and father: work, house, and especially taking care of and raising my son. There were always difficulties in our lives, both materially and mentally. But seeing my son happy and well-behaved growing up day by day gave me more strength than anything else in the world.

I love my son so much! And even though I am a single mother, even though there will be many storms ahead, I still believe that the love my son and I have for each other will be the strength to guide us through the pain to reach the shore of happiness...

Thien Thien

(Recorded according to the story of HTV, Do Luong district)