When my stepdad proposed to my mom, he did it while we were on a family vacation. He sat down with my sister, myself and his two sons to tell us his plan before my mom had any clue what was going on. Then he waited until we were all having dinner together before surprising my mom with a ring. In his speech, he said he wanted to propose in front of all of us because this ring didn’t just represent the marriage of him and my mom, but the blending of two families.
The video below from SoulPancake brought that amazing memory flooding back. It’s about a divorced couple expressing their feelings for the stepparents who are helping raise their son.
It’s so rare to hear gratitude expressed for the “other” men and women in our lives.
My mom and Sam didn’t get married until I was in college so I didn’t have the experience of really being brought up by someone other than my mom and dad, but Sam has definitely been a father figure since. My kids adore him, as they do my stepmother, and I’ve found one of the great advantages to having divorced parents (at least in my case) is having a plethora of doting grandparents.
Not to mention, additional aunts, uncles and cousins who make our holiday dinners into the large family affairs I always saw in movies but never had as a kid.
This is truly such a blessing to every person in that family. I know many blended families and not all of them are so connected and blessed as this one.
I wish more blended families could be like this!! Neither my children nor I, are part of a blended family, but I see so many families within our circle of friends and my children’s friends, that have such animosity and hate for the other parent/co-parent. So heartbreaking. Such a great video!
My husband is the most amazing man to not only me but to my son, his stepson. His biological Dad was never a “dad”. I thank my lucky stars every day because my son actually has a father to look up to now. He would have never had that had it not been for my husband now. This is such a HUGE, HUGE deal. These “step-parents” are not required to do this or be the replacement. Then of course comes the blessing of the extended families that you mentioned. God bless all of the step parents and other people that step in where others have stepped out!