We jumped into this blended family with a balloon filled with hope and a belief stronger than the Rock of Gibraltar. We were so excited to knit our families together with courage and love. After all, the love I have for my husband is immense and he is so NOT like the children’s father. Even the kids loved him!
But last night’s conversation was raw, tough and real! We finally admitted, this isn’t working. We are all hurting and hurting each other.
Blended family conflict
Often, I feel like we are two parent-kid planets orbiting around each other. On really bad days we look more like Cruella de Vil’s family, swimming in selfishness, jealousy, power struggles, heartbreak, loss and confusion. There are a lot of different issues working at cross purposes against us, like mismatched custody schedules, different approaches to co-parenting with exes, and the fact that our kids still grieve the loss of their original families. Not to mention new traditions, new extended families, two households and more complicated everything.