I met my now husband during the summer of 2015 and eventually met his kids that fall. At the time he had custody of the kids the majority of the time, which meant they were with him all but Wednesday evenings and every other weekend. While this made it challenging for us to find alone time to get to know one another, it turned out to be one of the biggest blessings, because I had the opportunity to spend a ton of time with his kids and begin to build relationships with them.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy. In fact it was downright excruciating at times, filled with lots of tears, sometimes happy, sometimes angry kids. There was also frustration on my end that despite my efforts, I always felt as though I'd take one step forward only to move five steps back. If you're a stepmom, you get it. You've been there.
Along the way, there was a ton of criticism thrown my way and while I won't get into too many details, I will share that at one point I was referred to as being a "Faux Mommy". At first it stung, but the more I thought about it, the more I loved it. When I hear the term "Stepmom", two images immediately pop into my head-the evil stepmother in Cinderella and Julia Roberts in Stepmom and let's be honest, "Faux Mommy" sounds so much more glamorous.
I had a choice. I could let the name calling bother me or embrace it. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? So I chose to accept it and became the Faux Mommy or Pho Pho as my "Faux" kids refer to me. If you're in the same boat, try it on and see how you like it. I know you will. xoxo, TheFauxMommy
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