Don't Be Afraid to Be a Real Family

We decided our children deserve a real home and a real family with a mom and dad that work together. In our home, I'm always the "mom," because I'm the mom of the house. My husband is the "dad" of the house.

We call our kids "our kids," never our step-kids. Brothers and sisters - the same - never step-brother. If someone asks about my kids, I list them all in birth order. If someone asks: "But whose is whose?" We say "They're all ours! You can figure it out if you work hard, but we call them all ours because they are." Just as you consider an adopted child your child!

When we married, my "new" teenage daughter also became a sudden super tyrant. Dad called her out for many talks and together we set up boundaries and explained proper behavior. Dad traveled a lot and when he was gone, I remained the mom and "real" parent. She became, and remains (almost ten years later), a lovely, sweet, tender daughter and sister. It's hard work - for everyone - but everyone deserves to be part of a good hard-working family.

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