Exploration #2

Sarah Watzke
ENGL 102.048
Melissa Keith
3/1/09
Exploration #2
On February 20, 2009 I observed the Single Parents Club. It was a very eye opening experience to see all of these different women come together because of one common life event. They are single parents going to college. Each there for different reasons, and each have different situations. Each of these women have a different amount of children and sex of children, each got pregnant at different ages, each have different jobs and work different amount of hours per week, each are going to school for different things, and are each taking a different amount of credits. But even with all of these variables these women get together and talk about their lives. They talk about good days and bad days, dates they have gone on recently, children’s birthday parties, and about their babies father’s. They even told me that their meetings where more of a chat session. I think these women need this time to talk to people who are going through the same things in life.
I really liked the fact that these women are organized together to fundraise money and do activities with their children. Things they mentioned were a concert, ice skating, an ice cream social, walking dogs, and going to movies. I just liked the fact that they were getting together and spending time with their children and friends.
I also found that these women are very serious about school. They don’t have time to joke around. And if it comes to studying for a test or taking their children to a movie, they study. They said that school comes before fun.
But don’t get me wrong these moms are just and other moms, but have been through some tough time and have had to grow up fast. They are involved with their children, and have rules like all other moms. Staying up late on a school night is not allowed. And they are very very passionate about their kids. One of the women in the group had a tattoo of a flower on her foot, with her son’s name, another had a bag with picture of her son on it. These kids have changed their lives and everything they do they have them in mind.
During this meeting I was immersed with some specific terms related to their community two of which were Sperm Donor, and the Six Month Rule. These women use Sperm Donor with a negative connotation. It is used to describe a father that isn’t involved in the child’s life. Also the Six Month Rule is how long they wait for their children to meet a guy that they are dating. This is very important to them because they don’t want their children to get attached to early into a relationship they have. I wonder how many woman use this rule. I think it very considerate of them to think about their children.
I have found out these women are very unpredictable, and very protective. Their hard situations have made them stronger human beings. They are very independent and their children come first. They only want the best for them. They are full of advice for others, and are willing to talk about their situations, and share with others.
I wonder what happened to make them realize what was going on around them? And if these experience has make them stronger?