Diary of a Single Mom:  I Am not a Man Hunter

It’s funny how when I walk into a room full of people who know I’m a single mom and all they see is a hunter well-armed with bows and arrows ready to shoot the next man down. Nobody agrees there are single moms who just want to be happy with their child(ren), with or without a man in their lives. There’s a popular belief in our society that a single mother is always desperate to date just any man as long as he can fend for her needs and because she can’t wait to lose the ‘single mom’ title quickly so her family can stop sighing. The world is changing. I might be at a financial dead-end but there are lots of innovative things I can do to make money and chasing after men who can ‘provide’ doesn’t even come close.

Flashback to 2016 when my neighbour, Mayowa, got me an adhoc job at the company where he worked. I was so grateful for the job because we hardly ever talked before then but he was kind enough to offer me a job since he knew I was a struggling single mother. My first day on the job was hell; all my excitement and enthusiasm got dragged to the floor by his female colleague who was obviously obsessed with him. Before then, I had seen him drive in through our gate with her a couple of times (I’m very security conscious). There had to be just one explanation for the darting look she shot at me when I walked into the office; they were dating.
“Oh God”. I sighed under my breath as I slipped into the seat Mayowa offered me and waited for the worst.

“Please don’t sit there, Mummy Valerie. I’ll use that chair soon. Please find another.”

I cleared my throat and stood up quietly with ‘Mummy Valerie’ still ringing in the air like she said them in bold, italics and underlined letters. Mayowa had left the office by then so I cleared my throat again, raised my cold chin up and walked to another empty chair. She scribbled something on a paper and drew a line. The battle line was drawn.

To be continued…