You are here

Stepfamily Letter Project

JacqueBFletcher's picture

Submitted by JacqueBFletcher on Wed, 01/14/2009 - 10:01am

Hi Everyone:

I want to invite you all to check out a new project that a fellow stepmom and I started over at: http://stepfamilyletterproject.wordpress.com/

We're asking members of blended families to write anonymous letters to each other which we will post on the site. Here are the submission guidelines:

Is there something you’ve always wanted to say to your:

stepchild
husband
wife
ex-wife
ex’s new partner
ex-husband
partner’s ex
step-sibling
half-sibling
the person dating your parent
mom or dad
stepparent
step-grandparent?

If you could write a letter to someone in your stepfamily and they would never find out what you wrote, what would you say? Would you let them know how much you’ve cared about them all these years? Or do you have some anger you need to get off your chest? Are your feelings hurt? Are you proud of someone or thankful for their presence in your life and you’ve never told them?

If you would like to add a letter to the Stepfamily Letter Project, there are a few steps to follow:

1. Compose your letter. We’re taking all kinds of letters: Happy, sad, angry, sweet — it doesn’t matter. We only ask you don’t threaten any harm in your letter. We won’t publish those.

2. Send your letter. You can send your letter within the body of an e-mail, in a Word document, a text document or Google Doc. All we ask is that you send it to [email protected]. We’ll try to publish the letters within 48 hours of receipt.

3. Include your name and e-mail. Obviously, because you’re e-mailing your letter, we’ll have your e-mail address. Please also include your first and last name somewhere in the email . We will not publish your name or e-mail address on the website; however, should we need to contact you for any reason, we’d rather not have to start out with “Hey you with the letter.”

4. Spread the word. If you know someone in a blended family who you think would want to participate, let them know about the site. We’re happy to answer any questions about the project.

5. Check back or subscribe. If you have an RSS feed reader or aggregator, sign up for an RSS feed for the site. This way, you’ll be alerted when we post a new letter.

Comments

Sita Tara's picture

Submitted by Sita Tara on Wed, 01/14/2009 - 2:01pm

But I have a question. Under submissions, all the categories you listed above are on the site, but when you look up the letters, there are none "To my Stepmom." SD, SS, SF, D, M, etc but no SM.

Did I miss it? Or haven't there been any letters to stepmoms submitted.

"Om Tare Tutare Ture Mama Ayurpunye Jnana Putin Kuru Svaha"
~Sita Tara Mantra

Ascoolasiam's picture

Submitted by Ascoolasiam on Wed, 01/14/2009 - 5:28pm

the to MY DAD's Wife is really to her SM? Looks like a neat site.

Sita Tara's picture

Submitted by Sita Tara on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 8:32am

I wrote a comment about it on the site and now it's listed as a category. I just felt that we SMs are the ones who most need to have those letters. Maybe having the category will inspire the SKids to write one. I may forward that site to my kids, and see if they want to write a letter to their SM. Maybe DH can mention it to SD too. I know I would never know which one was hers, but perhaps if she got it all out there, or even read someone else's she might try to understand what we could have here.

Interestingly, BM decided it may not be a good day to have her today, and only told her last night when SD called her to check if BM would pick her up here if there was no school/b-ball practice. BM said, "Oh I don't know, depends on the roads/ weather." So I'm assuming that means BM isn't interested in seeing her this week. DH said he was going to call BM, and SD said, "DAD DON'T. I can handle it!" I said, "Yeah...if she doesn't go she doesn't go. I wouldn't get involved."

Then I remembered BS 14 wanted to come over and babysit so we can get out for a date. So I said, "Wait a minute! We have a date!" Dh said, "UH- HUH!" So I don't know if he'll call her or not. We may just ask if she can hang out at a friend's who has very good parental supervision, and pick her up when we're done.

We'll see.

SD and I have been getting along much better (down swing to her cycle.) Yesterday she became angry when she couldn't walk to her friends because of the wind chill being below zero. I got peeved and sent her to her room. Later I apologized for losing my temper, but that her repeated "GOD"s! and slamming the doors was uncalled for as I cannot control the weather. She very sincerely apologized too. It was a rare moment.

Wish she could stay there a little while.

"Om Tare Tutare Ture Mama Ayurpunye Jnana Putin Kuru Svaha"
~Sita Tara Mantra

Endora's picture

Submitted by Endora on Wed, 01/14/2009 - 2:03pm

Like a great idea-

Step Parenting – you might need to step back before you step in something!

Tara12's picture

Submitted by Tara12 on Wed, 01/14/2009 - 6:19pm

the letter I would write to the BM could not be posted as it would get an R rating. But I look forward to reading letters from people that can control their emotions and word things better than I.