I have a good friend, who is also a single mom and whenever I get fed up about the indignities people have for us single parents, I go spend some time with her.  She is about as brassy and bold as they get.  She is short and sassy and doesn’t take a whole lot of crap from people. She also works full time as a hair stylist and receives no public assistance. I love her response to people who have that face of misconception about single parents. For instance, one evening we were out for a quick drink after a long week of work and a gentleman approached her, introduced himself to her, and as always, the first question he asked was, “So what do you do for a living?” In all her glory, my friend Alayne looked him square in the eye and in her most serious of tones said, “Well, since I am a single parent, I sit at home, eat bon bon’s, watch talk shows all day and collect welfare, you should join me sometime, bring beer.”  She does it with the most honest and sincere face, looking them square in the eye waiting for their reaction and it cracks me up every time she does it. Most guys generally seem a little stunned by her reply and search her face for a hint of jest, but it never arrives, sometimes they walk away, not knowing what to say, other times they get the nervous laugh, waiting to see if she is serious or not, but she never cracks. Once they are out of ear shot we usually have a good laugh at their expense. Although her approach is more direct, and to the point, I still think I like mine better.