First, hello! My name is Karen. I currently live in Arizona where I moved to live closer to my son who is living his best adult life now. I have nothing but love and compassion for any single mother going through PSM and am passionate about it being a women’s mental health issue that warrants respect and attention.
Hopefully, by giving this huge and overwhelming life change a name, by defining it in Stages, and by finding a little humor in it all, we can be gentle and patient with ourselves as we get through Post-Single Motherhood (PSMing) together. So, let's get started...
There are seven stages of PSM that, typically, span the time in every single mother’s life when her spawn are between ages 15 and 22 or, since kids aren't all in the same time zone, sophomore in high school through senior in college. Collectively, these Stages may be referred to as the 7-Year “B"itch.
Each Stage correlates to a year in the spawn's life. For example, the year before he or she drives, you will notice a smidge* of increased irritability. The year they drive, you will notice just a tad* more anxiety. And so on. Click on the link below for details.
(*Smidge and tad are used in a kind way to avoid premature fear, not in any way that could result in legal ramifications should you read this on a particularly snarky day. As in, you TOLD me I'd be just a TAD irritable...)