The recent blogs about hellish vacations have reminded me of mine.  Back on the '70s, i naively thought it would be a good idea to plan a vacation for all 7 of us.  I booked a big cabin at a nearby lake.  DH's friend generously offered to lend his outboard motor boat.

We packed our van & took off.  I can't remember what the 3 boys were doing in back (these were pre-carseat days) but whatever it was, DH was incensed.  He yelled at them half the way there.

I'm the veteran BM & SM of 5 reliving my steplife as I read the posts.  Many of you have mini-wives, i have one, too.  Only difference is mine is 58 years old.  This is a cautionary tale about how that dynamic can end up.

DH & SD were always close.  She was his first, looked like him & is his only daughter.  They bonded more closely when BM left.

I'm the 75-year old BM & SM of 5.  I've written about what worked & didn't work to get us to the end of the SP tunnel.  But the one thing that consumed most of my headspace was my jealousy & hatred of BM.

I'm the veteran BM & SM of 5 who reads the posts & remembers my traumatic steplife.  I've shared what worked to get us to the end of the tunnel.  Here's what didn't work.

Mother's Day can be an emotional minefield for step-moms.  I'm the 75-year old BM & SM of 5 who is thinking back over my steplife as I read the blogs & forums.

Alright here it goes. First I'll give you the players in this game and some background info. This might help with some advice I'm needing. 
Me: 39 yo mother of 2. My daughter is 21 and lives on her own. Self employed, independent, overall a joy to be around. 
My son is 20. Joined the National Guard at 18, has one daughter who is 1, and another baby on the way. He lives a state over with his gf. 

I'm the 75-year old BM & SM of 5 who suffers flashbacks as I read the blogs & forums.  We made it to the end of the tunnel & I wanted to share what worked as we coped with the day-to-day chaos.

1)  Counseling, the best money I ever spent.  Takeaways: assertiveness, engagement & more one-on-one time with DH. This is contrary to the often-recommended disengagement but in those days, I needed to step up to my family role.  As DH & I spent more time together, we became "deeper than dirt" as we shared our kids' issues.

I am  75 yo SM who has been reading the blogs & forums.  I want to tell all the traumatized SPs out there that it CAN sometimes work out & you CAN sometimes get thru all the issues & have happy years with your dear spouse.

Hello I'm new here. I met my now husband 12 years ago. At the time he had one son and him and his ex had just split up when we met. We dated and I got pregnant from him after a few months. He left me and got back with his ex without saying anything I found out because he wouldn't answer my calls. I went through the pregnancy on my own. He never called us. When my son was 2 him and his ex broke up even though they had another son together who was a few months old. He then contacted me out of the blue wanting to finally be involved with my son.

So SS5 is visiting for 10 days while he's on Fall break. Last time he was here it was for 2 and a half months over the summer so the 10 days shouldn't seem like a big deal. But this time I have a 7 week old newborn daughter and my husband doesn't have off of work. My mother-in-law is here to take care of SS while DH is at work, but I still just want the house to myself so I can focus on my daughter. She's an absolute delight, not fussy, and is almost sleeping through the night, so it's not that I couldn't handle SS and my baby girl, but I really just want alone time with her.