Wicked Stepmother

The Luau
Originally uploaded by BeanTipton.

What's the deal with the stepmother reputation? Why do we get the bad rap? I mean, sure it's fun to depict them as evil and nasty for fictional purposes, but there are those of us who really don't deserve the negative connotations. Ok, the stepmother in Cinderella deserves the bad rap, but c'mon! She locked Cinderella in the tower and broke the glass slipper!

I digress...

I have been a stepmom for a little over a year. I have had the chance to see Luke a total of 5 months in the past year. I have gotten the chance to see him change, grow and develope a cute little personality. This is the fun part.

I don't recommend part-time parenthood for anyone, but if it happens - make the best out of it. The best advice I have ever gotten was from my dear aunt Mitzi (who is no longer with us). She told me that the best I could hope for would to be his friend. That, in time, Luke would respect me for all the work I have done on his behalf, but that I can not replace his mom, nor should I ever try. While I think that Mitzi was coming from a very different palce in life, being a single-mother for the majority of my cousin's childhood, she did help me to take a step back. I never thought that I would take the place of Luke's mom, but I never thought to approach it as a friend. Of course, doing this with a 4-year-old is more like being a big sister, but when I relax a little, we get along famously.

Now, I just get to wait, patiently, for those inevitable four words that will come with time - "You're not my mommy!"