Life happens to the best of us. Sometimes having children doesn’t come with a co-parent either by choice (separation or abandonment) or by circumstance (death of a spouse); even by temporary circumstance (families with one OFW parent).

It’s not easy, but there are strategies that can make it a bit easier or manageable, at the very least. We sat down with Michele Santos-Alignay, a registered guidance counselor at the LOVE Institute at Ateneo de Manila University and the formidable Dr. Margie Holmes to get some ideas on answering that all too elusive question: “Now what?” that comes after the curveball of being a solo mom.

For more on solo parenting, read the articles linked below:

• The Solo Mom's Guide to Christmas: 10 Survival Tips
• Survival Guide for Pinoy Single Parents: 8 Tips
• The Single Mom’s Road to Happy Even After
• The Single Mom’s Guide to Dating
• Single Moms and Weekend Dads: A Guide to Peaceful Co-Parenting

Ana P. Santos is a freelance writer and publisher of Happy Even After: A Solo Mom’s Journal. The first of its kind in the Philippines, it takes a look at solo motherhood with equal helpings of reality and humor. Happy Even After: A Solo Mom’s Journal is available at Fully Booked and on-line at www.happyevenafter.com.

(Photos used for illustrative purposes only)