My youngest son graduated last night from high school. I am so proud of him.

There was a moment when I contemplated busting out in tears but I held back because mascara and tears don’t blend well on one’s cheeks.

My children are grown now and by every measure I consider my job as a single mother one in which I have succeeded.

My children are all in college and also working. They are very popular and kind to others.

I could take all of the credit because I did raise them for the most part but there were many others who had a hand in this.

God provided a wonderful babysitter for me when I was going through the horrors of divorce. A dear sweet Christian woman whom we called “Grandma May”.

I had a wonderful neighborhood that I lived in when they were just little tykes. The neighbor children were raised well by their parents so they had fun and well mannered friends.

I had parents who loved my children and used every excuse in the book to travel all of the way from Nebraska to Texas to see them.

I also had an ex-husband who stayed involved in their lives. I don’t care for him but my children love him and that is important.

There have been times over the past few years since my ex-husband has married his third wife, that being a mother has been extremely painful.

I have wondered sometimes if being a mother was worth it. There were times when I wanted to walk away just to escape the pain. There were also times when I felt the presence of evil and darkness so close I could barely breath.

I chose not to walk away, no matter how much my heart hurt. I chose to love them when they had broken my heart so many times that I couldn’t figure out how to piece it back together again.

I chose to forgive.

Last night when I hugged my youngest son after graduation I realized one thing.

I had made the right choice.