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Little things

Irene H.'s picture

I've been surprised at the ripple effect of little things, or even some missteps I didn't know I'd made.

We're week on/week off with the Skids. And it was quite awhile before I'd thought about what that means for them. This was the only home they'd ever known, and overnight, they're only here every other week, or half the time. Six months later (which probably seemed pretty quick to them), I showed up. To them I was a visitor in THEIR home, which I guess makes sense. 
Meanwhile, after I moved in, I was here all the time, and they were not. And I brought my own way of doing things with me, and DH and I merged his way and my way, the way all couples do. And when the Skids were/are here and the way we do things shifts, I didn't think of it this way in the beginning, but I guess I felt pretty quickly like they were visitors in MY home. 
The thing is, I think a lot of the little routines and the things they liked at home were instituted by their mom. And those things were gone from here, after she was. And they came to associate the changes with my presence, more than with her absence.

For instance, I do most of the grocery shopping. I wouldn't say we eat healthy, but we do eat Whole Foods, not a lot of processed stuff. I only buy real butter, I don't like margarine, though I would've bought it, if anyone ever asked me to. Here we are five years in, and one of the Skids finally says they miss the spray-on "butter" their mom used to get them for their vegetables. They thought they weren't getting spray "butter" anymore because I won't allow it, and they resented me for it. In reality, I never knew they'd ever even tried it.

It seemed normal I would sit next to my DH at the dinner table. My parents always did, and I don't remember the rest of us having assigned seating in my childhood home. Apparently, DH and BM did not sit near each other, which makes sense since they didn't get along the last several years they were together. When I took the chair next to DH, no one said anything, but apparently I displaced SS17; that was "his" chair. And it was the beginning of the end for us. I mean not really. His mental health issues are the source of a lot of his crap, but that was my first violation in his eyes. And I had no idea until fairly recently.

Little things that had a larger impact. I wonder how many more there are, and if we'll ever resolve them all?

Comments

Wilhelm's picture

Taken from the skids perspective there must be many indisgressions stepmothers make with no idea. It is why I think it best to reduce these problems by moving into a dwelling that has not belonged to either partner before getting together. 

Irene H.'s picture

I think you're technically right. We have a few good reasons for staying her right now, good that outweigh the bad. But more than once I've wondered if it would be easier in a new house.

SeeYouNever's picture

I thinmoving helps a lot, especially if it's the house BM lived in or if your SO was a single parent in some place for a while. 

But it doesn't get ri of all of it. I get blamed for DH acting differently. He's not as much of a pushover anymore. I'll take credit for that but they see it as I have him by the balls. 

 

JRI's picture

It is good that you can see the situation thru the SKs' eyes.  So often, we steppers are so wound up in our own pain, we cant see much else.

We didn't have quite the same situation as you. We were living in a different home and had the kids on weekends and summers.  When I read about the current mode of the kids moving back and forth during co-parenting, I wonder how that works.  We had such transition issues every weekend. I think BM dealt with it when they came back, too.  Ultimately, all 3 SKs moved in full time.  Things calmed down then, if you can believe that one house with 5 kids only 6 years apart can ever be calm.  Lol.

I wish I'd had the insight then to realize how the transition issues were affecting them.  Hindsight.

hereiam's picture

Little things that had a larger impact. I wonder how many more there are, and if we'll ever resolve them all?

I don't think we can ever really resolve them all because, frankly, we don't know them all (and some of them, only make sense to the step kids).

When my SD was 15, I learned a lot about how she really felt about me, and I had been in her life for 10 years at that point. Everything she had been told by BM were lies, but it set the tone for how she felt about me... and her dad. I honestly had no idea until she told us. I mean, I knew what BM was saying to people, I had no idea that she was saying it to her young daughter. SD never let on, until one weird weekend.

SD, at 16, once said, "Well, you know my dad better than I do". Yes, that was true. Because her parents divorced when she was young, and he only had her EOWE, and I lived with him full time, I knew her dad better than she did. Not my fault, but there is was and she resented me for it. I actually felt bad for her.

Sometimes, we just can't win and it's through no fault of our own. I don't always blame the step kids, though, it is hard for them.

 

Irene H.'s picture

Here's the thing: you SHOULD know him better than the kids do. That's not wrong.

In our case, BM used the Skids to keep DH at arm's length. She had other reasons for not wanting to be in the marriage. She has this whole martyr syndrome idea of what a good mother is. Forget teaching them to be functional adults; that's not even a consideration, let alone a goal. So they're used to being put first. I get it that they need more attention when they're young, but they're 15, 16, and 17. It won't be long before they're out of the house, and all either one of their parents will have, is the life they built on the side, while being a parent. It'd better be a good one.

Felicity0224's picture

I know exactly what you're describing because I've experienced it a lot lately. Almost 13 years since H and I met and over the past few years a long list of my many "offenses" have been brought to light every time the SDs get upset about something. Things that aren't inherently offensive, and mostly things that I've done in an attempt to make a nice home or create a memorable experience for everyone.

But my SD's perception of things has been totally different from mine and H's, mostly I suspect because a) I do pretty much everything exactly opposite of BM because we were very different people and b) BM somehow manages to twist everything I do or say into a direct personal attack on her and my SDs. 

I had no idea until a couple of years ago that this was their perception of me and my way of doing things. It has been shocking to say the least to discover just how much I've been vilified for doing things that are completely benign or even downright kind and generous. It's definitely jaded my outlook on step parenting in general and now my advice to newer stepparents tends to lean more towards 'do less, care less' because it just feels like I've wasted so much time, emotional energy, and money over the past 13 years. 

Cover1W's picture

If people cannot communicate then misunderstanding and frustration can happen and things remain unresolved.

DH does not communicate well much of the time with SDs and has not encouraged them to communicate with me, or really anyone, about their needs, wants, feelings. So no discussion could ever take place. I could try my dammdest to help, to figure out what was wrong, to this day...I can hardly get an almost 15 yo to tell me what she wants from the grocery store. She won't ask for new needed clothing or shoes. I just eventually gave up. BM is extremely reticent in her actions too and I think the SDs have learned from her very well (she's a GUBM and DH is merely a stupid man).

And we did move into our own home. It helped for a while but really, I am the one who cleans more and takes care of things here, just like in the rental. It was also my down payment that got this house in the first place. So when OSD complained to DH that it felt more like my house she was right, and I told him so. And no way was I going to pretend things were his idea (yes, he did ask that). So again, communication is key. Instead of telling OSD the truth he shrugged her comment off.

Irene H.'s picture

What is it about the grocery store? There are things only the Skids eat. For the SD15, it's bean burritos, macaroni and cheese cups, certain brands of cereal. If she's out of one of these things, I won't necessarily know, esp. since I don't eat it. She'll get cranky about being out of stuff, and she never said anything about it. I've given up there. If she's out, she's out.

lieutenant_dad's picture

I'm an SD and a SM. I remember being angry about my mom bringing someone new in who had such different mannerisms and ways of raising kids than she did. I remember missing when it was just "us" - my siblings, my mom, and I. I remember hating that I lost my "power" as the oldest child.

As an adult, and as a SP, I can see where my feelings were justified and misplaced. There were errors that my mom and SF made (like moving in my SF a month after they started dating). There were errors I made (using my SF as a scapegoat for things I didn't want to take responsibility for). However, at the time, I didn't have enough life experience and my brain wasn't fully cooked enough to have acted much differently on my own accord.

I bust parents' balls on here all the time because what kept me from totally giving in to my emotions related to my parents' divorce as a teenager was my mother keeping me on a short leash. She laid it out very plainly that my SF was an adult who helped pay for things, and she was the parent. What she said was gospel. I could feel however I wanted to feel, but I could express those feelings in healthy ways. I could journal, b**ch to my friends, punch a stuffed animal, scream into a pillow, etc. However, I was in deep sh*t if I took it out on my SF. I was in deep sh*t if I convinced my siblings to be a-holes to our SF. I was to show him more respect than I showed her, and she was true to her word.

My mom swung too far and became too focused on her marriage as time went on, to the detriment of my brother and sister. But, for the "golden years" she was stable, I learned a lot about how to be a good SP and what to expect from a partner. I also watched where my mom and dad both effed up royally, and I have watched how that has hurt my siblings over the years.

I'm not saying that SKs can't be evil and mean. I'm not saying that they aren't ill-intentioned at times. What I AM saying is that parents need to own up that they nuked the stability that their kids had and need to find out FAST how to provide that again. That means different things for different families. I can't fault a kid for feeling very put-out when the home they grew up in 100% of the time now becomes their part-time residence and everything but the structure starts changing. Moving is one of the most stressful events a person can go through, so imagine the stress of "moving" between homes EOW while the physical home you know is changing in decor, food, atmosphere, etc. The kicker, though, is that SKs don't get that relief that comes with moving. They're stuck still seeing the remnants of a family and life that were all they knew, and watching as it slowly gets stripped away and their parent and the new partner don't want anything "old" to stay.

Basically, I see both sides. Kids and SPs get punished for the errors of the parents. That's why wet noodle Disney parents drive me nuts. I don't fault SPs for wanting to put their foot down, but they need to direct their frustration toward their partner. Their partner HAS to be in the middle. They HAVE to translate what their kids need into a compromise. Yeah, as the parent, they're likely going to lose out in those fights because what they win is a peaceful home with BOTH their partner and kids. And I lose my everloving mind when parents act like selfish d*ckheads who don't realize that they are already winning just by the virtue of being able to end a bad relationship, start a good one, and have their kids. Having to actually parent your kids and navigate them through divorce and a new relationship is the price for that, and not nearly enough seem to have to pay it.

Irene H.'s picture

I'm a Skid, and while my parents weren't perfect, they did show me what it looked like when a husband and wife are in love and have each others' backs. To say they had a united front is the understatement of the century. And in our house, the "extra" parents faded away, so we had no back and forth, and that was easier.
My hubs is getting better. At first he was fairly passive in dealing with the Skids.  At first, both parents didn't want to ruin "their" time with the Skids by riding them. But it quickly became clear they weren't doing the Skids any favors with that. He's learned since then, and better communication between he and I, has made for better parenting on his part. It's a work in progress. Our biggest issue now is the difference in parenting styles, if you want to call it that. When we have rules and chores and structure she doesn't have, it's tough. 
I like your style. You're no nonsense. 

Rumplestiltskin's picture

I agree, it's the bioparent who holds all the cards in the "blended" home, and a lot of the issues that the skids and stepparents have stem from the parent wanting to have all the benefits but none of the sacrifice. 

lieutenant_dad's picture

Your last sentence was beautifully stated, and far more succinctly than I could have ever worded it.