I'm so frustrated with commentary from people who have no children let alone never dealt with a stepfamily. I think my mom is a nut, but at least she talks about my stepdaughter like she were anyone's daughter and not a disease. SD's going to grow up too quickly and hate me just because she's mad at the world, according to my mom, when she says anything at all about me being a mom.

Meanwhile, my friends who have no children, no stepparents, no exes to deal with at all, feel free to tell me what I should do, what it's like to deal with a child of divorced parents. Um... How do they know? Did they see something on Oprah?

I just got an email from a friend telling me that "Unfortunately you're in for the fight of your life because she doesn't have the standard boundaries that some children have for the brain to mouth filter" all based on an incorrect assumption he made about my stepdaughter. My favorite part (because I wasn't looking for any advice) is when he asked "How much time does she spend with you now?"

Thanks for asking, "doc," but I wasn't looking for your advice.

When did I become the go-to relationship to rip on when other people want to feel better about their own situations...?