Go to work, bitch

Brown envelopes through your letter box are often unpleasant and I opened one yesterday from the Department of Work and Pensions.

From the end of this month, I must take part in a Work Focused Interview every three months. This, whilst I am battling to secure affordable accommodation for my son and I, is not welcome news.

However, there are single mums who are working part-time, possibly shelf stacking for 16 hours a week, who also have to do this. Oh no my dear, you can kiss goodbye to being there for your child, kiss goodbye to encouraging your child with his or her homework, kiss goodbye to taking him or her to after school activities, kiss goodbye to volunteering for the school, kiss goodbye to that 'other' life of yours of cooking, cleaning, laundering, kiss goodbye to balance.

Other mums work full time so I can to? I'm sure that there are 1 or 2 single mothers who would prefer not to work "full time" but have no choice. Like next year, I will have no choice. As it is, my son doesn't like to go to after school club and that's only two days. What choice will you have my little fella?

From next October I "may be entitled to claim Jobseekers Allowance". If I'm not housed then I may have no choice but to claim "Disability Allowance" for I am going mad. This is not ideal but is a better option for me than getting pregnant again.

Say I do get housed (finally), I won't be able to work for Women Like Us, a great organisation that finds part time work for mothers. It was set up by two mums with partners who met at the school gates. Their ethos is that they understand mothers' needs.

I told them years ago, and I can't believe I'll have to tell them again: "Women Like Us is not for Women Like Me."

Gordon, Dave, Nick, they all have wives, they all have children, they all have much more besides. None of them have a fucking clue.

This is the kind of slap the State gives you when it's your symbolic husband.