Page 68 - PowerE-L05-D

Lesson 17

Single Mom

My daughter shocked us with the news that she is
pregnant. That day of revelation was surreal, and as

my husband and I tried to make sense of this cruel de-

velopment, she dropped another bombshell: she was
going to have the baby. We argued, we pleaded, we

wept for her, but to no avail. Abortion is not an option,
she was firm about that. “But how could you raise your daughter on your own? How

could you afford your child to grow without a father?”, we wailed in frustration and
love for our daughter. But she was adamant, and as we finally bowed in resignation,

we listened to her silent plea. “I’m going to have this baby. It may not make sense
to you or to anybody, but this is a choice I want to make. It would be easy for me to

get an abortion, and less painful if I set up my baby for adoption, but there is nothing
wrong with being a single mom.” These days, more and more women are choosing

to be single mothers. It’s not so much that they are victims of philandering partners

who conceive a child and run away-some of these women reject honest proposals of
marriage. Perhaps because of disappointments with men, or distrust of marriage, or

perhaps because they think that a child could grow better under a single mom, these
women are taking the road less traveled.

Comprehension

1. What is the conflict between the daughter & her parents?
2. Tell me the reasons why some women choose to be single mothers.

Questions

1. What do you think of single mothers?
2. What is your opinion on single parenthood?

Vocabulary & Expressions
Surreal: having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal
Pleaded: to appeal or entreat earnestly
Wailed: to grieve or protest loudly and bitterly
Adamant: utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion in spite of all appeals, urgings, etc.
Philandering: to engage in many love affairs, especially with a frivolous or
casual attitude
No avail: of no use or effect.
Road less traveled: choices not often taken or made.

66