From the Beginning

No White Picket Fence - if you are looking for a fairy tale ending you may not find it.

Don't get me wrong - there is plenty of happiness, but a lot of heartache and pain comes with it. Life is simply not what it used to be. I certainly didn't expect to find myself in the middle of a divorce at the age of 32, certainly didn't believe life would turn into endless conversations about who had B when, who had received the copy of his report card, which days could we switch and feeling sad that he'd lost his first tooth at his dad's house. I didn't image that it would hurt as much as it did when his dad introduced his new girlfriend to my son, and I didn't think I would become so easily hurt watching my child happily interact with another mother figure - but that is my life. And seven years later, it still sorta sucks.

Divorce, and its destruction, surround me. Many of my friends have travelled through them; many of my friends parents are divorced. Many of my kids friends at school have similar stories to tell and all too often I find myself engaged in conversations about the EX (mine, theirs, other people's). Most often these conversations include detailed accounts of the extra doses of stress that come with the territory.

I am fortunate to have found myself on one side of the scenario just as one of my closest friends (Molly J) found herself on the other. You see - she is the step-mom on her side of the ship. And I gotta say that any way you shake it, it's tough to be on either side. Together we have been able to offer each other a sense of what it feels like to be on the other end of the journey.

And so I find myself here, writing and wanting to share my experiences and thoughts in a way that might help another find a way to balance things out with the kid's best interest at the helm. Personal motions aside those sweet little souls often caught in the middle, and as hard as it is for me - or a step-mom, or a new girlfriend, they need us to find some calm in the storm.

My mate Molly J is onboard and together we hope to shape perspective from every angle. Together we are mamas to many, and so the blog journey begins. - Mama Laura