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If Looks Could Heal
“Do you think his eyes will stay blue?” my stepdaughter curiously asks me one day as we lay across my bed staring at her baby brother. “Oh, I definitely think he will keep them,” I reply. “Do you think his hair will stay blonde or turn dark like Eli’s did?” she inquires of me again. I tell her, “I sure hope so.” And I mean it. I really do hope he keeps his blue eyes and blonde hair. Just like his sister. You see, the way you look is important in a family and even more so in a blended family. Looks are powerful symbols of relatedness and belonging. Looks…
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11 Things Your Husband Wants You to Know But Doesn’t Know How to Tell You
Ok, Stepmoms! This is how a remarried dad really feels. And this is straight from the horse’s mouth! 1. I wanted the perfect family just as much as you did. When we got married, I thought you were the answer to all of my problems and that you being in our lives would magically fix everything. I am just as heartbroken and disappointed as you are when things aren’t going the way we hoped they would. 2. The reason I get so upset when you complain about my “baggage” is because all I ever wanted was to give you the the perfect life. I wanted you to have everything you ever…
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11 Things No One Tells You About Marrying a Man With Kids
1. Sometimes you are going to feel like an outsider in your own “family.” Even if your step kids welcome you with open arms. Even if the ex likes you. You will feel left out when your husband jokes about being a parent in a conversation with friends and when he goes to school functions without you. You will get knots in your stomach every time you sit down at the dinner table, dreading what awkward or inappropriate comment is going to come out of your stepchild’s mouth this time. You will feel insecure when they laugh about old memories, because up until now, none of them involve you and…
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Mommy Dearest
Wow this was a tough one! This is something that was not only hard for me to write but will probably be hard for you to read, whether you’re a stepmom, mom, stepchild or just a curious reader. But sometimes we have to talk about the hard stuff and that usually involves getting outside of our comfort zone. And just to warn you-this post isn’t funny or lighthearted and a maybe a little preachy, but I am just going to jump right in here! I want to talk about something that every stepparent feels the underlying tension of but maybe hasn’t consciously confronted yet and that is, the part they…
