I agree completely!

I've been a Stepmom for a total of 6 years. No matter what has happened or how I have been treated, I still love my Skids and care about them. Even after all the BS I've beeen through and the constant mistreatment, I still try my damnest to be the best SM I can.

While your point is valid, keep in mind this is a worldwide forum. Just as there will be people who can relate to you, there will be just as many who cannot.

Apparently, OP cannot.

In my situation, my issue is not with my skids or with my DH. It's with BM and the custody battle we're dealing with. It's dealing with the PAS attempts and the constant battle to maintain a strong, positive relationship with them. If we could get skids full time, I would be more than happy with that.

It isn't always the kids that make step-situations difficult to deal with. I am happy in my marriage & I love my husband's kids. Most of my issues are with BM, & we really don't have a lot of dealings with her anymore, but I don't feel like because most of my life is happy that I don't have a place here if I want it. I don't think that misery is a requirement for membership.

I also came across ST when I had problems. I've worked through a lot of them, but I don't think that means I don't belong here.

I don't mean to direct this at you alone. A lot of members present the same argument. We all have our reasons for being here.

Because even in the happiest situations there are times when you need to blow off steam at a certain situation. I found this site a few years ago and yes, when things are going well, I disappear for a little while, but every once in a while a skid will pull a fast one and instead of beating my DH to death over it, I come here and tell you guys. It has saved my marriage that's for sure!

I come here to vent about BM. She is my issue. Not SS. Being a step parent means more than just dealing with the kids.

Same here. I had a bad experience at another site like café mom, same story, horrible women on there, I couldn't get off there fast enough and never went back. I gave up for a while on finding an outlet, and then on a really bad day I googled it, and this was the first thing to show up. I LOVE it, and I don't care that others think I am wrong for feeling like I do either. If they lived my life they would feel the SAME way. They never will be me though, so I don't bother explaining myself.

I have responded to posts and talked about my MIL a bunch. She is just as big of a problem in my life as skid, BM, and DH are.

I attempted to post about my MIL. I absolutely can not stand the women. Which is a shame, seeing as how I worked with her for years and she introduced me to DH. Guess her true colors really began to show through. The only responses I ever got was disengage, disengage, disengage. Its hard. She is always there and she never goes away. It doesn't matter how many times me or DH completely flip out at her. It almost like it goes in one ear and out the other. She won't leave me alone! Uggh!
Needless to say, I don't post about MIL too much, because its definitely a situation I feel completely alone in.

Alas, I agree. 100%.

If you believe that a SM being able to love her stepkids means things are perfect, you are seeing only a tiny piece of what steplife entails. People who hate their stepkids aren't the only ones dealing with issues.

IMO, many of the people who blame their miserable lives on kids are simply unwilling to look at the real issues.

Stepkid issues aren't worse than BM issues or DH issues. They're just different. Perhaps that's not something you can see, but BM issues, MIL issues, DH issues can be equally hurtful & destructive in a stepfamily.

I don't believe anyone here claims to have it all perfect.

I do love my skids. There are many other issues surrounding stepparents and blended families. My #1 issue is BM.

I'm pretty sure we have the same MIL. We could be long lost Sister In Laws. Ha.

Fake nice..ha.. my MIL invented fake nice. The passive aggressive bitch!

MIL is always around. She never leaves me alone. She thinks she is King Tut of MY house and I literally want to stab my eyes out every time I hear her car in the drive way! DH completely sides with me and 100% will put her in her place.. when he is home. Its got to the point where she will only say/do ignorant things when he is not around. If he is home she keeps her mouth shut. The minute he is gone all hell breaks loose.

I work 40 hours a week, I go to school full-time, I volunteer for cheerleading for SD8's squad. I do all homework and school activities with kids. I shuttle back and forth to every practice, game, friends house, bday party, and whatever else their little hearts desire. I cook and clean everything! MIL constantly tells me I don't do enough. She told SD8 the reason she has chores is because I'm too lazy to do myself. She has called my BS8 retarded, (whom is in 3rd grade and reading and writing at a 5th grade level, while SD8, in 3rd grade, is doing so at 1st grade). She constantly undermines me when it comes to anything to with SD8 and SD4. God forbid I tell them to do anything. She is divorced from FIL and absolutely hates the fact that her kids and myself have a truly wonderful relationship with him. They have been divorced for over 20 years and still can't let it go. She is completely dependent upon everybody for everything and couldn't live a day on her own. She sucks everybody dry of everything they have whether it be money, pride, or happiness.

I truly hate this women and I wish she would just get sucked in to some black hole. Nobody would miss her!

I came here to offer a different point of view. I wasted too much time in my younger years getting hyper over BM antics and step-kid issues. You can never get the time back nor can you unsay things said in frustration or anger. I am here to say "it isn't worth it" or "there are bigger things in life to deal with". Hence my "keep calm and carry on" tag line.