Remember me? The Tasmanian She-Devil? Notice that my blog avatar has changed to reflect the calmer, more playful me.

When I came to this virtual place two weeks ago, I was at the end of my wits. I had so much stored up anger and resentment... I let it fly, and I got encouragement and support from the folks in here, who are uniquely positioned to understand how difficult stepparenting is.

It made SUCH a huge difference. Almost immediately, I felt myself relaxing. I didn't need to force my husband and skids to understand and appreciate my struggle -- I had now had people I could turn to who knew EXACTLY how I was feeling and who could empathize! And it's much cheaper than seeing a therapist!

After getting it all off my chest, I felt better at home. I stopped being so wound-up and edgy. The skids (who live with us fulltime) relaxed. That helped me relax some more. The cycle of positive feelings started to build.

On Thanksgiving night, my SD put her head in my lap as my siblings and my blended family watched a movie together. She turned to me unexpectedly and said, "You're a good stepmom." I just about lost it. I just hugged her and said, "You're a good daughter." Not "step." Just "daughter." (Remember, this is a kid whose mother has more/less abandoned her. I'm the only mom she's got, for all practical purposes.)

I don't have the answer for everyone. All our situations are different, with some things in common. But I can at least say that talking to you all got me past the moment of crisis. Thank you!

There WILL be more turbulence. But I do think I'm going to be one of the lucky ones with the happy ending.