I often wonder if stepparents, stepmothers especially, are underappreciated? I’m new at step-parenting and still trying to fit myself into the equation. I know there are those who go through so much more than what I’m going through. However, I feel it helps for me to vent my dissatisfactions.

Before I go any further, my partner and I are not married but we’ve been living together for almost a year now. SD8 and SS5 spend the weekend with us every 2 weekends and we get along well. Their BM and I are friendly and we email each other every other day.

The longest they have stayed with us was about 2 weeks and it wasn’t that bad. It’s just that, recently I find SD8 to be very annoying. I feel bad for venting because I know she adores me very much but at times, I just can’t take it. She’d interrupt whenever SO and I are talking and when SO scolds her, she’d say sorry BUT would do it again later on. I’m in my early 30s and her BM is nearing 50, and SO is late 30s. So I feel as if she sees me more like a friend than an adult – if that makes sense. SS5 calls me “aunty Mystique” while she calls me by my name. In their culture, I guess that’s okay but I feel as if she’s being a bit disrespectful?

There are other things she has done that hurt me (maybe I was overly sensitive…?) and I’m the type that bottle things up because I hate confrontations (typical Libran) so I just let it slip ALTHOUGH I did once or twice told her that it wasn’t cool what she did or said. I feel so much relief when we send them back to their BM. The thing is… I adore and love them… but at times, I feel like yanking my hair out! Is this normal?!