Beautifully Blended Family

I met Jason when I was 22. He had three kids ages 6, 8, and 10. I remember being so nervous to meet them. What if they didn't like me? As we rode back to Florida from Louisiana listening to the kids belt out all the lyrics to Quiet Riot Metal Health, I fell in love with them instantly. 


I tried my best to be friendly and loving without overstepping. I reflected a lot on all the things my stepmom had done wrong and how I could do better. I wanted to be a support for their relationship with their dad, not an interference. I cherished the time we got to spend with them and thought about them all the time while they were away. 


Sharing kids is stressful though. Divorce is messy. If I'm being completely honest, there was a time when the adults couldn't stand to look at each other. Those days weren't enjoyable for anyone. They weren't healthy for us or for the kids. Letting go of all our bullshit not only made us better parents, it made us better people. 


We aren't just civil for the sake of the kids. We genuinely care for each other. We love each other's kids as our own. If we ever need anything I know they'll be right there, and vice versa. We plan holidays together because we really do enjoy the company, not because we feel obligated to. 


Now we are sharing children and grandchildren and my heart could not be more full. I am forever thankful for my beautifully blended family. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Frog Update- The Results Are In

Image
Approaching the date of Frog's three year checkup Jason and I decided to tighten up on Leland's gluten free diet. That meant no cheating whatsoever. That may sound easy to some, but you can't really explain to a small child why he can't eat the same foods as his brother. Likewise it's not fair to an older child to have him eat his favorite foods far away from his little brother. We decided though, that it was the right choice despite the challenges. About a week after we started being insanely strict we started to see improvements. Frog began sleeping better and having less stomach problems. His sleep study was scheduled for two days later. It took a while to settle him down, but he actually took the ordeal like a champ. He endured the half hour of hooking him up without much protest. We were instructed that his cannula had to stay in, so I fought with it several times in the night. Aside from some occasional fussing he slept pretty well, just as he had done t
Read more

I Hope You Know

Image
About six months after Daddy and I started dating he made an announcement. He said we were getting a chihuahua. He explained that his family's dogs had a litter of them and he had always wanted a white one. I told him that I really wanted it to be a girl. He said, "You're in luck, there is a girl that's white." The excitement began, and we impatiently awaited the call to come pick up our new addition. When your litter was six weeks old we were told you were weaned and we got the green light.  We drove all the way out to Jay and found a kiddie pool full of the smallest puppies I had ever seen. They pointed out which one was ours, and she was beautiful. She was also a little reserved. She stayed put in the pool and looked at us curiously. You pounced right to us, and beckoned us to play with you. It was that exact moment that you stole our hearts. Dad looked at me and asked what I thought. I told him that I was a little nervous that the first one would be stand offi
Read more

Teaching Life Skills

I read an article yesterday about how our kids, teenagers especially, have outstanding scores in school but don't have any life skills. It recommended that we bring back a mandatory life skills class. I don't disagree with that. I think that's a great idea. I saw a bunch of comments about how parents now are lazy. Or they are helicopters that insist on doing everything so little Tommy doesn't have to lift a finger. Others said we are forcing our kids into academic servitude in an attempt to live vicariously through them at the school of our choice. I'd like to propose a different perspective. Many of us didn't have a typical upbringing through our teenage years. Some of us had to do everything in the home. All of the cooking, cleaning, the raising of siblings. Maybe we had a single parent who worked all the time or one who suffered from chronic disease, mental illness, or drug addiction.  Now those kids are raising kids and are trying desperately to let them enj
Read more