Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and Lean In author has written a heart-rending post on Facebook for Mother's Day to all the mothers, especially those raising their children all by themselves. 

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Sandberg lost her husband Dave Goldberg unexpectedly last year. In the post, she describes how the loss of her partner has changed things for her and the children in the past year.

Sandberg writes, “For me, this is still a new and unfamiliar world. Before, I did not quite get it. I did not really get how hard it is to succeed at work when you are overwhelmed at home. I did not understand how often I would look at my son’s or daughter’s crying face and not know how to stop the tears.”

 Sheryl Sandberg with husband Dave Goldberg (Image Courtesy: Facebook)

The Facebook COO, in her post also pointed out how shattering when several occasions remind them that her husband and their father isn't aroun danymore for events like father-daughter dances to Parent Night at school.

“For many single mothers, this is the only world they know. Each and every day they make sacrifices, push through barriers, and nurture beautiful families despite the demands on their time and energy,” Sandberg says.

Sandberg,however, realises that she is fortunate to not have financial burdens that single mothers and widows often face.

“Poverty is one of the hidden and devastating aftereffects of loss for women. By the time they are sixty-five, about one in five widows in the United States lives in poverty. Cohabitating and many same-sex couples who lose partners are particularly vulnerable as they are often not afforded the same rights of survivorship that married heterosexual couples have,” she said.

Sandberg has earlier emphasised how critical a loving and supportive partner is for women to suceed both, professionally and personally in her book Lean In.

While talking about maternity leaves, Sandberg points out how the US is the only developed economy that does not provide paid leaves, “The United States is the only developed economy in the world that does not provide paid maternity leave. Almost a third of working mothers don’t have access to any kind of paid leave to care for themselves or their families if someone gets sick. Instead of providing support, we all too often leave the families who are struggling the most to fend for themselves. The odds are stacked against single mothers in this country. Yet so many give everything they have and go on to raise incredible children,” Sandberg said.

Concluding her note, Sandberg says being a mother is the most important—and most humbling—job she has ever had.

“As we rightly celebrate motherhood, we should give special thanks to the women who are raising children on their own. And let’s vow to do more to support them, every day,” Sandberg says.

You can read the entire post here: