sometimes things aren't what they seem

do you know what PARADIGM means?

{don't worry I didn't either until my friend taught me} 

It basically means that we only know an orange is orange because that is what we were taught - if we were told an orange was red all growing up we would believe it was red - get it? ;) 

Ok well it got me thinking about being a 

STEP MOM

we have been taught by media and magazine and such that a step mom has a certain persona...

evil, mean, strict, can't love you the same as her own, etc

{ex - Cinderella}

I am not ANY of those things! 

Becoming a step mom was one of the greatest thing to ever happen to me

I love my three boys as if they were my own and treat them as if I had birthed them all

{much like an adoptive parent does}

Does being a step mom have it's challenges - oh ya!

IS IT HARD SOMETIMES

oh ya - but any parent will tell you it's hard sometimes!

One of the hardest things for me was when the children were younger

I felt like mom - I was mom

I was room mom in the kindergarten class

I went on field trips

I helped at class parties

I took them to DR and dentist appointments

I sat their and held my youngest as he was put to sleep and had all front four teeth pulled

{let me tell you that was an emotional day!}

I bathed them -and fed them

and loved them to pieces!

BUT

at the end of the day

even though I act like mom and treat them like mom

they still had their MOTHER

sometimes that was hard - it took awhile for me to understand how I could be doing all these things that a MOM does but not get the satisfaction of being "mom" at the end of the day!

well it's been many years since those days and I have come to terms with it and have come to appreciate it and understand it

it doesn't mean that some days still aren't hard

but having those three sweet boys in my life is worth all the hard days that come along with it!

So I am reaching out to any of YOU that can relate to ME

are you an adoptive parent, a step mom, step dad?

I want to hear your struggles and ways you overcame them!