my blended family

[Kate]

Hi all,

 

The old version of this board was a lifesaver when my partner Joe died in 2012. At the time our kids were 3 and 6. A few years later I got married and had a baby pretty quick after that. I wrote about explaining my big kids dad to my littlest for Huffpost, so I thought I'd share that here since some of you may be dealing with similar things. 

Hope that is ok!

 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/explaining-blended-family-toddler_us_5c34b57ae4b01e2d51f78951

 

[Captains wife]

My son was 9mths old when his Dad died  - so thank you for sharing !!! And congratulations on your blended family !! Wishing you many years of happiness.

[Kate]

On 2/4/2019 at 2:37 PM, Captains wife said:

Thank you so much!

 

My son was 9mths old when his Dad died  - so thank you for sharing !!! And congratulations on your blended family !! Wishing you many years of happiness.

 

[DonnaP]

Hi Kate,

I, too have a blended family, but not in the same way as you. When my husband died, I was mother to two college-age boys, aged 19 and 20. They were old enough to both feel the raw emotion of having a beloved parent ripped out of your life and to sense the pain the remaining parent was going through. They were a lifesaver for me.

 

About eight months into my journey, I met a widower (MrDrew) on the former widow site (YWBB) and we helped one another, as we were both at the same timeline (our spouses actually died days apart). MrDrew and I fell in love and decided to get married. He brought two children to our union -- a teenage daughter (who has declared herself to be trans-gender and is now living his life as a male), and a 30-year-old severely handicapped young woman, who has cerebral palsy and diminished brain capacity. She is pretty much full-care and lives in a group home up in Massachusetts.

 

The challenges that go along with a blended family are plentiful. With four children, we often have to divide our attention.

 

[note - post to be continued]