[Days of Broken Arrows]

I've been told by psychologists that one of the things that messes up the children of single mothers is having their mother's boyfriends and/or husbands come in and out of their lives.

For the kids, the problem is not so much not having a dad around -- although that's not ideal -- but the feeling that adults can suddenly disappear and that there is no stability in life and no one they can depend on.

A few years on, this makes for distrustful angry teens and eventually adults. Hence a lot of the dysfunction and erosion of community we've seen in America since the 1970s. It all starts with the (lack of) family.

When your ex cheated on you and basically pushed you out of her life, she probably messed up her son's life more than she did yours. And you can bet that will get worse considering the men she'll have passing through her kids life in the future.

Have enough of us dealt with single mothers as parents or girlfriends for me to start a "single mother horror story" thread? Because I have a few tales that will positively destroy your faith in humanity.

We need to document stories like this one somewhere. Because it's not happening out in the mainstream media.