I started a 'mommune' with another single mom. We're 'soul sisters' raising 6 kids and 6 cats in the same house.

Sat, 02/03/2024 - 06:43

Samantha Salem and Jess Rodenburg share a meal in a diner — Samantha Salem, 37, and Jess Rodenburg, 38, have formed a Kansas City 'mommume' with their six kids.
Courtesy of Samantha Salem

Samantha Salem, 37, bought a big house for $275,000, planning to rent the basement on Airbnb.
After her HOA forbade Airbnb, Salem's friend moved in with her kids, paying $1,000 monthly rent.
Now the two single moms are raising and homeschooling their six kids under age 16.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Samantha Salem, a 37-year-old real-estate agent in Lee Summit, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. She is a single mother with three kids who formed a "mommune" with her friend and colleague Jess Rodenburg, also a single mother with three kids. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I have three kids, ages 9, 15, and 16.