the non-traditional patch...

The non-traditional pumpkin patch...you know, the ones on the side of the freeway that draw you in because of the millions of bouncy houses that are lined up and the few pumpkins they have...ya. That's the non-traditional pumpkin patch. Heck yes...we went. Randomly after I picked my sweets from daycare we took a quick trip to the make shift patch. We skipped the bouncy houses...momma didn't have dollars to drop on bouncy houses...we went for the pumpkins...it's fall y'all!

In case anyone needed to be reminded of how classy this place was...they put this sign up at the entrance:

 This momma is all about adventure and excitement. Doing special things. Getting out and about. Not letting things hold us back.

I didn't have a camera. Just the handy IPhone...because this trip was quick and spur of the moment. The random, less planned adventures in my mind seem to be the most exciting. I for one was full of excitement...chick...she was slightly cranky. 

But I know she had her moments of appreciating and exploring. I knew she took it in as a memory. I know one day she'll look back at the pictures, even if they were taken on a cell phone and be happy that her momma took her to random side of the road pumpkin patches. It's these moments as a momma that I appreciate the most.

With holidays here and more holidays approaching I am full of excitement and full of wanting to make this year top the last. I am more comfortable with being in "family" settings like the pumpkin patch with just my girl and I. I'm less aware of moms and dads together with their kids and more aware that this is my life and I'm fully embracing it. You don't need a partner to make your family a family. I need my daughter to feel like a family and no one else.

In the past going anywhere I'd instantly feel out of place when I was surrounded by families. I felt I was being starred at and being judged. I wasn't. It was all in my mind. If I was being starred at I'm sure it's because of how stinkin' cute my child is...or me, for that matter. Not because I had "single mother" written across my forehead.

 I've learned to fully embrace my place in the world as a mother...as a single mother. I will not let myself feel intimidated by the world of partners, husbands and wives, families. No one is the same. The color of our skin, our hair, our eyes...no one is the same. No situation is the same and no style of parenting or family style are the same. You may have a loving partner, you may be divorced and remarried, you maybe in a committed relationship or maybe you're like me...a single parent. We should not care what the rest of the world is like and we definitely should not feel judged for living life.

I'm living life the only way I know how...taking it for what it is. Nothing is perfect. No one is perfect. But I'm making the most out of what I have been handed for my daughter. She deserves real patches and makeshift ones. She deserves memories, adventure and fun just like any other child. And I will give her that. Because single or married...I am her mother and it is my job to create a life full of love.