I wanted to share the story of a friend of mine, as I feel it is truly inspirational and what every blended/step family should be like. I will call my friend "Stacy", her mother "Pam", and her father "John".

Pam and John were high school sweethearts. Shortly after graduation, they found out they were having a baby (Stacy). They tried to make it work but soon realized they were not right for each other - this was when Stacy was one month old.

About one year later, Pam and John both met the loves of their lives, and married a few years later. They raised Stacy 50/50 in each household. To make it easier, John moved with his wife only one block away from Pam and her husband. They had somewhat of an open-door policy. Stacy was allowed to go between houses almost at her own will, as long as everyone was informed.

About 7 years later, both families started having their own children. John had two more and Pam had one more. This younger group of children ended up growing up together and playing together in the neighborhood. Pam's child would go hang out at John's house and John's kids would go to Pam's house to swim...everything was completely normal to them.

Two years ago, Stacy got married. Both of her "dads" walked her down the aisle. All of her sisters stood for her. All of her parents sat together in the pew and at the reception table. Sadly, Stacy's husband lost both of his parents when he was young. In his wedding toast he talked about how lucky he is now that he gets to have two sets of parents - Stacy's parents.

I think about Stacy's family a lot, and how they made a difficult situation work out best not only for the ONE child that they shared, but for ALL of the children and families involved. I am sure there were plenty of hard times, hurt feelings, and critical comparisons made along the road, but it just gives me so much hope that some day things CAN work out!