What a weekend I’ve just had. I finished connecting with old PWP (Parents Without Partners) Friends whom I’ve met and cherished since I first joined the organization in the early 1990’s. My son was about 6 when I attended that first orientation so long ago that led me to join Belleville Chapter 559 of Parents Without Partners. I can remember my fright as I ventured into the Cahokia (IL) Methodist Church to hear about this wonderful godsend — PWP.
PWP was founded in 1957 by 2 single parents living in New York City. Lucky for us, they realized something needed to be done to help all the single parents struggling to raise their children: the feelings of isolation and confusion, and sometimes that overwhelming urge to just explode triggered by the struggle of doing everything alone — whether that’s really true or not.
I can remember how nervous I was attending that first orientation. I was told there was a dance the following Sat night, and was given information about that as well as information about the many educational and support programs this international organization offered. I had first heard about PWP in 1970 when I worked with a single working mother. She was always telling me about the organization and the different functions she and her children attended, but I never realized that some 20 years later I would be telling someone else about PWP and the many activities my son and I were attending.
It was good to reconnect with these people who had helped me keep my sanity and my young son safe from a tired, overwhelmed single working mother. For one day I felt as if I had never left them — even though my son is now 25 years old (and I too am older).
For all you single parents in Blogland, here is the website should you wish to learn more about this wonderful, international organization. http://www.parentswithoutpartners.org
SandraBranum's Blog 
It’s like everything else isn’t it- you get out of it what you put into it. My mom attended PWP when I was a kid, but she only used it as a free dating network and with little results.
I could have done that too, but chose to be everyone’s sister instead because “family” usually lasts…