I’m a single dad with a young son who has some special needs. My ex-wife couldn’t handle the needs of our son and is in denial as a parent. Though she loves him, he is with me 85 to 90 per cent of the time.
I adore my son and would do anything for him. But it has been life changing. I’ve had to change the angle of my career — which I’m so fortunate was a possibility — and now I work from home almost entirely.
My ex-wife also has a big career and is unable and unwilling to change it for our son. It’s been 18 months and I’m lonely for adult conversation outside of work, and adult affection. I have met some lovely women who are in similar parenting positions as myself but all are married (though not all happily).
There’s one woman in particular with whom I feel a spark, but I don’t want to be the reason her marriage ends. How and where do I meet women when I barely have time to brush my teeth? Tough gig, but hopefully as your son gets older you’ll find a rhythm to your schedule. Yes, I imagine it has been lonely for you and you are more than deserving of meeting someone to share your life with — or at least have some fun times.
I agree you’re probably best to look outside of the circle of women with whom you share parenting hours. Though they’ll be sympathetic to your lifestyle and the demands of parenting a child with special needs, you’re sticking too close to home. And you definitely don’t want to get involved with the woman unhappy in her marr.