Single Mom Diaries | I Did Something Hard Today...

I did something hard today. Not the “I skipped breakfast and now I’m cranky” kind of hard. Not even the “work deadline and my brain is fried” kind of hard. No, I did the kind of hard that makes your chest hurt and your stomach twist—the kind that leaves you pacing around your kitchen after bedtime, wondering if you did the right thing.

My son crossed the line today, so I cut the cord. No apps, no games—just silence and the sting of a lesson he won’t forget.

Not out of spite. Not out of power. Not because I wanted to prove a point. I did it because he was being an absolute little asshole. Disrespectful. Dismissive. Tuning me out like I was background noise in his quest for maximum screen dopamine.

And let me be clear: I love this kid more than anything. He’s smart, funny, curious, and weird in all the best ways. But he’s also learning how to push every boundary known to man. And I’m the one standing there like a human sandbag, holding the damn line.

Do you know how much it sucks to be the bad guy?

To watch your kid’s face crumble when you follow through with a consequence. To hear him slam his door and mutter “I hate you” under his breath like you just threw out all his dreams in the trash. To absorb the fallout of his big feelings while suppressing your own, because someone has to keep the emotional ship from sinking.

I didn’t want to do it. I hate this part of parenting. I hate feeling like I’m choosing discipline over connection, like I’m closing a door instead of opening one. But I also know that if I don’t step in now, if I don’t teach him how to take accountability for his actions, then someone else will do it later—and it won’t be with love.

This job is brutal sometimes. No one tells you how often you’ll feel like the villain in your own home. No one warns you that the biggest heartbreaks won’t come from breakups or betrayal—but from having to look into your kid’s eyes and say, “I love you too much to let you act this way.”

Tonight, I’m tired. I’m questioning everything. But I also know he needs me to hold the line. Even if he resents me today.

~smy