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Are “blended” families the new normal? I think so. It’s rare for me to come across
a family these days with what we think of as the quintessential family: same ma, same
pa and no “transitional history.”
I’ll just be upfront and honest with you. I’ve been divorced once, and I’m only
27. I married again, not too soon afterwards, to my dream man. My hubby was never married.
He reared his now-tween daughter pretty much on his own…till I came along. When the two
of us married, it was QUITE a change for all three of us. We instantly became what many
would call “a blended family.”
Funny thing is…nobody treats us any differently than if we were a “quintessential" family.
We’re viewed as the idyllic, perfect little family. Several of our friends have even expressed
how they are a bit envious of us. Go figure!
Sure, the first year was a bit tougher to get through, definitely for me. I often felt
like the third wheel coming into an already established dynamic. Our tween also had a
bit of a tough time with having “another girl” in her daddy’s life, on top of going
through the challenge of moving from childhood to tweenhood.
But, all in all, we are about as “normal” as you can get! We have our spats and scuffles.
The hubby and I have our disagreements. The tween and I don’t always see eye-to-eye.
In the end, we love each other very much and are inseparable.
And, I know we are not the only family like this…
Could somebody PLEASE come up with another term than “blended” for families with
different histories? In my book, a family is a family whether it’s straight, shaken,
stirred or blended. Family is about coming together from our various pasts and becoming
a new unit, no matter our starting points.
What do YOU think: Are you part of what Mainstreamers call a blended family? Does that affect your
countercultural point of view?