 Bronny Fallens, 38, Brighton, Vic
Tucking in my little girl one night, I read her a bedtime story. It was a tale about a princess finding her prince and how they both lived happily ever after. I winced as I read the last page. Who decided that you need to be with another person to be happy? I thought.
I'd been a single mum to my daughter Alexis, now three, since the day she was born and we were both wildly happy.
'You know not everyone has a daddy, don't you?' I asked her the next morning.
'I know,' Alexis replied while she painted a picture.
Later, a thorough search of our local bookshop confirmed what I had feared. There were no books that catered for our family set-up.
'I'm going to write one,' I said to my friend Shereen one day. 'Just like that?' she asked.
'Why not? I am a super mum after all,' I joked. I thought about my life with Alexis and the things we enjoyed doing together. I wanted her and other single parents and their children to be able to relate to my story.
 And so My Super Single Mum was born - a storybook about a mum who mowed the lawn in the morning and baked muffins over lunch, then still had time to dance with her kids in the living room all afternoon.
I spent all my savings on getting the book published and waited nervously to see how it would go down. But it wasn't the critics' approval I was after. It was my little girl's.
One day in July last year, as Alexis and I put on our coats to go to the park, the doorbell rang.
 'They're here!' I shrieked as I opened the door to a delivery man carrying loads of boxes. Ripping one open, I handed a copy of the book to Alexis.
'Do you want me to read it to you?' I asked her. 'Yes please!' she said, full of excitement. When the story was finished she wouldn't let me put it down.
'Will you read it again?' Alexis asked. I kissed her on the head.
'I'm so pleased you liked it,' I smiled. This year I also hope to release two more books called My Two Super Dads and My Super Groovy Gran. Families come in different forms and I'm proud I can help reflect that. Purchase My Super Single Mum or read more at
www.bronnyandmuntsa.com
As told to Joanna McKenna (28) |
