I grew up with five siblings in a single parent home.
My mom did a good job of raising us as well as learned odd ways to get by as a single mom.
She was easily creative as well as found ways to save money so that my friend and I could live a comfortable life. She clipped coupons as well as saved on our groceries, she passed clothing down from sibling to sibling, as well as she believed in the basics, especially when it came to apartment appliances. We never had fancy cooling systems in our homes, but we lived in a easily boiling part of the country, but my friend and I still made it by. My mom had her ways to keep us easily comfortable without the air conditioning units. For example, she constantly had freezing lemonade available for us to drink on boiling afternoons. She also constantly had fans running to keep cool air circulating. Finally, her best trick was that my friend and I slept downstairs on the legitimately boiling mornings. Since heat rises, our second floor was constantly unbearably hot. It was hard to sleep comfortably because my friend and I would wake up in awful night sweats. On the other hand, the first floor of our apartment was constantly cool at night. We would set up blankets on the floor as well as sleep together. We would stay up late as well as hang out together. I remember my mom would try to hush us as well as try to make us sleep, but my friend and I were having too much fun. It was like a big sleepover. Those were some of the best childhood memories that my siblings as well as I share.