In the not too distant past being a “single mom” was considered something women weren’t exactly proud of—or at least something that no woman wanted to find herself in the position of being. We used to call them unwed mothers, or divorcees, sometimes widows. Regardless of what we called them these ladies were either pitied for their unfortunate circumstances, or figuratively speaking, forced to were a scarlet letter for failing at their marriage or God forbid, bearing children without benefit of matrimony. We used to have a title for children of such an arraignment but I don’t think we do anymore—there’s just too many of them. Fast forward to the present and we find ourselves in a world were being a single mom is considered to be cool, or hip—a title some women wear like accountant or teacher.

Our next contestant is Molly McBean, a single mother from Toad Hop, Indiana.

I’m sure we have all had the opportunity to view the modern single mom in her natural environment; after all, they seem to be everywhere these days. That setting will usually be at a mall or perhaps the local pool where the thirty-something unmarried matriarch can be found in competition with her pre-teen daughter to see who can show off the most midriff or garner the most rude comments from the pimple-faced teenage boys who most likely have a single mom of their own to look up to.

Granted, for every single mom out there, there is an opposite but not necessary equal single dad out there trying his best to save his children from the clutches of his liberated ex-spouse. Single dad is easily identified by his shabby wardrobe and the thousand-mile stare that goes along with the support payments and court ordered visitation that may if he’s lucky provide him two weekends a month to undo all the dance lessons that mom has enrolled his ten-year-old son in, or the belly button piercing that his ex has allowed to be performed on his twelve-year-old daughter.

I still remember the good old days when dad’s mid-life crisis involved nothing more than the purchase of a used Corvette and maybe a toupee to go along with it. There was no such thing as a mid-life crisis for women. But that was the past, now women seem to begin their second childhood before their own children have even entered puberty. Nowadays a woman’s mid-life crisis is likely to involve competing in a M.I.L.F. contest on the local radio station or going out on a date with their teenage son’s best friend.

Mom used to be what made America great. We had the best mom’s in the world, in my humble opinion. We still have some pretty good moms out there but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that increasing numbers of single moms seem to parallel the rapid decline of American values. What do you think?