Eight of the Groovy Tuesday gals are in blended families -- second time around marriages with his and her kids, pets, and stuff. It can be rewarding, exhausting, exasperating, just right or over the top; sometimes all at the same time. Along with all the usual joys and headaches of being a family is an added dimension of dynamics -- the ex-spouse is a nut case, supporting an ex-spouse is creating a financial burden, the biological kids don't get along with the step-parent, the biological parents favors his/her own kid, (fill in the blank). It gets somewhat easier as the kids get older and time graces the re-marriage, but blending issues never totally go away. They keep coming 'round like a broken seat on the merry-go-round.
I recently heard Dr. Donald and Jenetha Partridge talk about the art of making a blended family work. They have very interesting, insightful and eye-opening things to say about high-speed solutions that will stabilize a step-family, building working stepparent/stepchild relationships, dealing with difficult ex-spouses and their partners, and more. There are lots of books out there for single parents and blended families but I think their take on the dynamics of HOW a stepfamily works or fails is what makes their approach more likely to be successful when applied in a real-world situation. Check out their website at www.blendingfamily.com
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