Family.
There it is. Black in white. Short story. Long story.
Let's start with the easy stuff. This is where my family starts. Just me and my husband. Josh. Joshua. Sometimes J$ (pronounced Jay Money). Oh how I love that face!
So there's that. Don't get confused though, this is not my only family! Far from it! I have a large, blended, family. Made up of parents, step parents, and so on and so forth. Seriously, if I took the time to count how many siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents I had, well, let's just say we don't have time for that! How do y'all consider your family? I ask this, and come to this post, because when I was talking about my huge 'blended family' I got a confused face staring back at me. A very well off, intelligent person, with a very confused expression on his face.
One day I was riding with my supervisor at work. I rode around with him in his car from store to store. Needless to say it was a little awkward. So to break the silence I struck up a conversation on family, taking advantage of the time we had and hoping to maybe get to know my supervisor a little better. What I learned wasn't about him, but about me.
My definition of a blended family: A nicer way to say that not may people in my family get married, or stay married to the same person for ever. Kind of scary right. Sad? No. Pathetic? Please. Say anything bad about my family and I will cut you!
Anywho. That's not far from the Webster Definition of blended family. So yes, my family members have all re married.
I am completely unaware of any statistics that involve blended families. I don't care to know honestly because it's how I've lived my whole life! One Big Happy (mostly) Family! And only now, at 25, talking with a grown adult with a wife and children, did I feel like my family wasn't as good as other families.
Hmm. Let me rephrase that.
Ok. Growing up, all through school and the little dating that I did, I was never ever shamed for my step parents or my step siblings. How does that work, that now as an adult, I am being judged for that?? I dare someone to tell me that I can't or don't love my blended family as much as a typical family. Is that even what we call it?
How many brothers and sisters do you have? I have 9. How many children did my Mom and Dad have together? Me and only me. I'm not good with math but that doesn't add up right?! I never lived in the same house as my Mom AND Dad. Yes, I did dream about them finding their way back through me. Who doesn't?
I lived with my Mom and Step Dad. Those 2 brought me 6 siblings. A younger brother that my Mom had before my SD, and they had 2 more kids together. My SD had 3 kids from his previous marriage. So needless to say our house on the weekends was cray cray. It was so much fun because if there was one sibling that you weren't getting along with that day, you had plenty more to choose from! From playing Legos to building snow men and snow forts. Six kids can be really creative!
That's still only 6!! Yes, only. Haha.
My Dad and Step Mom were my other weekend/summer/Holiday family. Yes. No wonder my life is so hectic now, I can't imagine not being somewhere or spending time with all of my family! My Dad was married before me, and before he was with my SM. I have 1 big sister. And I just met her for the first time a couple of years ago. Does that mean that she is any less of my sister than my sister that my Dad and SM had together? Nope. Through all of this I have one thing that maybe not everyone else has, a big heart for my big family! My SM also had a daughter before my Dad. Yes, I include the brothers and sisters that I'm not really related to by blood, because what does that matter?
Here's where everyone disagrees and the controversy begins. Because out of the 13 people I talked about above ^ only half of them have the same blood running through their veins that I have in mine. Some people would say we're not related? That maybe I don't get the same things I am entitled to with each brother and sister because we're 'step-siblings' or 'half-siblings'. Those words are so ugly! I love every single sibling I have!
This 'trend' continues throughout the rest of my family. I have Grandparents and Step Grandparents. Aunts, uncles and cousins galore! And as I've said before, I love every single, crazy weekend and every packed Holiday that comes with this life!
I'm curious though, how many of you have the same crazy big family? How many of you have parents and grandparents that have been together forever?
