Selma Blair finds the perks of being an older, single mom

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Selma Blair is quickly learning that her son, 4-year-old Arthur Saint Bleick, is more than willing to be her mini-me -- sarcasm and all.

"He gets sarcastic, which no one should get because sarcasm isn’t great, but I have it in abundance, so I’m so grateful he’s my son," the 43-year-old actress recently told People.

"He gets it. He gives me lots of hugs and kisses and tells me he hopes I live a long time, even though I’m old. That’s his new thing to say before bed. We say our prayers, and then he says, ‘I hope Mommy lives a long time, even though she’s so old.'"

Like many of us, Selma sometimes has a hard time not laughing when her son acts up.

"When he does something horrible but funny, it’s usually directed at me," she went on to explain. "So I kind of laugh, but then I realize, ‘Oh no, I can’t let him go out in the world and treat people like this!’ I’m the lightning rod for what he does. So I’ve really toned it down. He’s pretty strongly disciplined now, and it breaks my heart, but I know it’s for the best. I have to."

Though Selma Blair welcomed Arthur during her relationship with fashion designer Jason Bleick, the pair split in 2012 and she now considers herself a single mom -- a single mom who loves parenting on her own and having a later-in-life baby.

The star, who's been "very much hunkered up at home" lately, reminds herself often to enjoy this experience.

"I'm up at 5:45, I’m playing Candy Land by 5:47," she joked. "I remind myself every moment, I think, because I did have my child later than a lot of people have children. So I've had a whole life to live and realize the grass isn’t always greener. I just need more sleep, but I do appreciate every moment."

"Being a single mom, at first it’s a very challenging thing," she added. "But to have that much time with him, just the two of us, has been an incredible life-changing experience. And I do not take it lightly — my gratitude."

Although I have no personal experience with being an actual single parent, the bits of time I have spent with my kids while my husband was traveling did feel quite different. Though it's probably easier to parent with a partner overall, I've always found it so much simpler to be the only boss. What I say goes when he's away, and it's felt like a bit or relief in those brief periods not to have to always be coordinating.

As to Selma's other point, about having lived a whole life before becoming a parent, all I can say is that I'm on the opposite schedule. Our first son was born when I was 23, and had just barely left college. I've always felt that perhaps it was ideal not to have started a life (career, friends, etc.) and then had to change it when kids came along, but I've also felt frustrated over the years not to have had time to heartily pursue my own interests.

What are the perks and pitfalls of the time period you became a parent in?

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Photos: PR Photos

 

More famous moms who are loving single motherhood, either starting or adding to their families on their own: