I am changing my focus with regard to my travel chic blog.  I’ve landed in the States in a completely new life with my partner and his 12 year old daughter that’s beyond foreign to me.

Let’s just start out with the fact that I chose not to have children.  Even as a little girl, I would line my friends and their dolls up on the floor over a stretch of fabric and carefully cut out patterns to sew them clothes while they played house.  There was always a part of me that knew I needed the freedom of flying solo to spread my wings and explore the world.

Now, at 40-something, I’m playing house with a slightly hostile pre-teen that pushes and argues every boundary to exhaustion, then performs Hollywood-worthy meltdowns if she doesn’t get her way.  It’s not just physically and emotionally draining… Some days it’s drains my very soul.

Not having children of my own, I’m missing out on all the parent-support that exists out there.  Not being her actual mother, I’m not socially acceptable by her friend’s mothers who pledged their alliance to the ex.  And while there are amazingly supportive communities online who have handled these challenges for far longer than I have, I have yet to find my “people.”

Who are my people?  Brutally honest, candid, and don’t take offense.  I have no time or energy for sugar-coating or being perfectly PC in a world that searches for reasons to take offense.  Because sometimes we just need to vent and not worry about who’s offended by our use of the F-word.  I need people who can find humor amidst even the darkest and dreariest of days – We either laugh or cry through our toughest experiences and I prefer to laugh.  And (of course) someone who will keep the wine flowing until we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

That is my ultimate goal – Create a space where anyone can share freely and know that we are not alone.  However, I also want to create a positive and uplifting space where we don’t get stuck sharing more horror stories than kind support and unique insights.  It’s a little too easy to get caught up in the one-upmanship of “well you think that’s bad… just you wait until I tell you what happened to me…”

If you feel so inspired, please join me.  Warning – Things may get a little blunt and just might include inappropriate language when appropriate words fail to support us.  There will definitely be a heavy dose of sarcasm followed by laughter over extremely inappropriate of things.  But I promise to always keep a positive focus because that’s just who I am. 

Welcome!  Let me pour you a glass of wine.

Now let’s share the good, the bad, and funny-as-hell stuff about our step-hood experiences.  There’s never a lack of drama in this step-world.