As a mom my days are filled with tiny hands reaching for my own, any number of make-believe adventures, and the purest love from the best cuddle partner ever. My days are also filled with tears, tantrums and full-out breakdowns over things even more trivial than spilt milk.

As a single mom, there are days that seem to be mostly the latter. Sometimes we all just need a little support.

I don’t know where I would be without the amazing group of friends I get to call my mommy support system. Skye receives more love and adoration from her “aunties” and “uncles” than she knows what to do with. The majority of my friends haven’t yet become parents themselves, so for many of them Skye is a novelty that doesn’t easily get tiresome.

My friends are always holding me up when I feel most weighed down. They’ve been there to watch my monster in a bind, or when I just needed another adult to talk to – about something other than which My Little Pony is my favorite and why.

They have kept me young during the times I felt most wilted up and aged by motherhood.

My best friend Abby has been like a second mother to Skye; ever ready to give her shameless amounts of love and also the resilience to be strict that comes from being a mother herself.

Two of my other close friends are the main reason I was able to perform as a dancer so often. Skye’s “Auntie” Jordyn is always taking her on the most memorable of adventures. Most of these friends offered up their mini-human watching services completely for free, knowing I am broke but also that I needed them.

Even the friends that have never been called in as babysitters support me in their own ways. They get me out of the house, either with the kiddo in tow or when she’s with her dad in Denver. During the latter excursions they all ensure that I remember just how young and full of life I still am.   

This year on Halloween, Skye didn’t go trick-or-treating with a group of buddies decked out as pirates, fairies or ninja turtles. Instead she had a possy of twenty-something “aunties” and “uncles,” plus her actual uncle surrounding her. And she loved every second.

Being a mom is an amazing, joyous, whirlwind of love and emotions you never knew you were capable of. Being a mom is also hard. And exhausting. And some days I feel anywhere from 10 to 50 years older than I am.

But I know I’ll get by, because I have help from my friends.

About the Author

Morgan Armstad

Morgan Armstad is a part-time writer and waitress, as well as a full-time mom to her incredible daughter Skye. She loves to read, dance and eat Milano cookies. She graduated spring 2016 from the University of Montana in Missoula with a degree in journalism with a history minor. Morgan is currently working and writing at Mamalode magazine in Missoula and has written for the website VProud.