Life for single mothers (or fathers for that matter) can be very hard and it’s easy to occasionally get overwhelmed by fatigue.
What one thing could a friend or SO do for you that would earn them your eternal gratitude?
Take care of the kids for awhile
Footrubs
Candlelit dinner ready for you when you got home
Get the groceries out of the car
Rake the lawn
Concert tickets and a babysitter
What little thing could someone do for you that would make you the happiest?
Yes, those would do nicely.
But if I had to choose, I’d go with anything related to massage and/or anything that facilitated a bit of Alone Time for me.
I think different people are overwhelmed by different aspects of parenting. For me, it’s fatigue and the lack of privacy that puts me over the edge, so anyone who keeps my kids for a day is a Special Friend for life. Other parents may miss going out and doing grown up activities, so concert tickets and a babysitter would be the perfect gift.
I just had a massage, so for me, right this moment, I’d welcome any Doper who wanted to pop over and take the kiddos out for a day at Playland tomorrow, so I could sleep, read, and rest.
Best,
karol
Cash? 
Honestly, nothing makes me happier than when my brother picks my daughter up and they spend the weekend goofing off together. She comes back in a great mood and I have some time to play.
Since my kids go off with freinds (Jr. Ranger I) or father (Jr. Ranger II) every weekend, leaving me to recover from the constant bickering and fighting and whining, while doing a week’s work of laundry for 2 kids, one of which changes clothes at least three times a day, a babysitter wouldn’t be the answer to my prayers
If someone really wanted to be on my “I’ll love you for always” list, they could clean my house, which I haven’t managed to get really clean since before Thanksgiving.
Definitely any brand of massage here as well, and a child free meal in a nice restaurant would be great. But these are luxuries that as a sole parent I really cannot afford, but its nice to dream.
I only have one child still at home so I don’t pine for time away from bickering etc, but I guess the thing I would like the most would be someone to talk to at the end of the day who wasn’t shorter than me. (not that the short person can’t hold a decent conversation, its just not the same )
Single mom here. Something I would really appreciate was, oddly enough, an invitation to do something with the both of us – museum, child-friendly theater or movie, skating, shopping, whatever. I’m lucky enough to have a babysitter built-in for when I need one to do grown-up stuff, so what I really miss is the everyday type of companionship I used to have with friends that I don’t necessarily have to leave my son behind for. Does that make any sense?
Sigh. I think I need friends with kids.
Driving.
We have no car, and must take buses wherever we go. This is not good in Ohio where its not going to be above freezing for the next week.
In my experience, if you have no car, no one wants anything to do with you.
I’m going to echo Gundy here with the suggestion to make plans that include the kids. I’m the only one in my circle of friends with offspring, so I’m pretty much excluded from everything anymore which sucks. Also, any offer to whisk the kids away for a good chunk of time. It’s not too big a deal to get a sitter for a few hours to see a movie or something, but it would be pure heaven to have someone willing to give me a whole weekend to myself, or even a whole day.
From the other side of the situation, if the mom has more than one older kid maybe offer to set up a series of “whisk-aways” where a different kid is left behind each time for some one-on-one mom to kid time. I grew up in a family of six daughters, and some of the most distinct “quality time” memories I have of my childhood are the times when my mom or dad made a point to spend some time with me and me alone.
Other than that, just about anything that needs to be done in the daytime and requires full attention can be a chore for a single parent. I haven’t done yardwork in ages because by the time the Lil’guy’s in bed, it’s too dark outside for me to get to it, so that would be a huge help in my situation.
Regardless of what you do astro, I’d just like to thank you on behalf of all us single parents out here for even thinking of this. While I wouldn’t go back to my comparatively free-wheeling childless days for anything, being a parent can be overwhelming at times, especially when there’s no other adult around to take the edge of the occasional case of kid-centric crazies.
I’m sure whatever you decide will be greatly appreciated. Good luck!
For me it would be great to have someone who could pick her up from daycare once a week, take her home (our home, not theirs), feed her a healthy meal, get her ready for bed, clean up the house - so that for at least one day I wouldn’t be rushing home from work and rushing to cook dinner and stressing so much.
Massages and romantic dinners on the table don’t do much for me. I’d much rather come home to pizza and a video if it means the house would be clean and the kid taken care of before I got home. Or even if we were all home together just to not be responsible for anything for a full day would be great. Someone else to be the disciplinarian, clean up after me, and to make the decisions about meals. That would be cool.
Or if someone were to come up to me and say, “mornea, all your bills are current and you don’t have to pay anything this month.” That would be awesome! 
My brats are older now (the youngest is 14) but when they were younger, I had a friend (more like an adopted auntie) who would take all four of them for the weekend about once a month or so. It was absolute heaven.
Nowadays I’d just like someone to come in and spring clean the house or pay my bills for a week, or take me shopping (with their credit-card) for some groovy clothes…
Oh, and a decent back massage as well.