If you’re anything like me, you’ve been handling this single parent life much better than you expected. You’ve found your stride, figured out how to handle one, two, even three or more little ones with only two hands, and you’re feeling pretty proud of yourself.

Then reality smacks you in the face, and you’re reminded that the holiday season, your first holiday season as a single parent, is just around the corner.

It sucks, for sure – there’s just no way around that. If you would have told me last holiday season that I’d be spending this one as a soon-to-be divorcee, I would not have believed it. The holidays are probably the only time of the year where you’ll second guess your situation and feel a bit sorry for yourself. I get it, trust me, and I’ll even allow you to RSVP “yes” to your own pity party for a moment or two.

But guess what? I can’t change that fact that I am a single mom about to endure my first holiday season, and neither can you.

The only thing we can do now, my fellow single parent superstars, is make peace with what is and figure out a way to rock it with a smile on – because after all, our littles are watching us.

I plan on getting through it the same way I managed to handle Mother’s Day, only with a lot more strength, more time since the day my life changed forever, and a much better attitude.

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Here is my Holiday Survival Guide for Single Parents:

1. Have your moment of sadness – but only a moment.

Divorce really is like a death. The person you once loved and relied on to get through life with is no longer by your side. It’s sad, so allow yourself to feel that sadness in your core, even though it sucks, otherwise you will never get over it. But in any difficult situation, you have two options – let it swallow you whole, or find a way to pull yourself out of it. When the sadness hits you this holiday season, embrace it, honor it, and then take a look at your children, followed by a good look in the mirror, and remember who you are – a badass mom or dad who still has plenty to smile about.

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