Death

Mama J on December 8th, 2011

When I was six or seven, I had two pet names for my father – Naa and Ego. Although I don’t remember their origin, I suppose I was following suit from seeing the diminutives my parents used for each other on Christmas gift tags and Valentine’s Day cards. (P.B. and E.S., which stood for something […]

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Mama J on September 28th, 2011

Last Saturday our oldest daughter, my stepdaughter, was the first of our kids to get married! Click here to read part 1 of my post. I promised more details about the ways the wedding ceremony balanced honor and acceptance. First of all, Brianna’s aunt (who is Brianna’s mom’s sister and was her best friend) attended […]

Continue reading about Wedding Ceremony Balances Honor and Acceptance, part 2

Mama J on September 23rd, 2011

I was waiting for the actual “big day” to tell you about it!  Our oldest child and daughter (my stepdaughter) got married this past Saturday! What a special day, and YES, we love her husband. This is an event that I always knew would raise questions of balance between past and present in our family, […]

Continue reading about Wedding Ceremony Balances Honor and Acceptance, part 1

Mama J on December 9th, 2009

I am so thrilled today to share with you that my audio preview is live and ready for your prime time listenership!  This is the first dedicated resource I know of for stepparents coming into a family where a parent has died. In today’s post I also inform you about a few other stepparenting and family resources.     For […]

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Your turn:  If you have any comments or advice for this reader, please comment below or send me an e-mail at info@dianefromme.com.  I’ve recently been in e-mail dialogue with a concerned stepmother.  She’s stepparenting three elementary- and middle-school-aged children whose mother died several years ago.  My heart went out to her as I read about […]

Continue reading about A Reader Writes: If Everyone’s Fine, Why do I Feel Stressed?

Mama J on February 18th, 2009

This is the third in a Wednesday post series about the role of the parent in stepfamilies.   Stepfamilies might feel more cohesive if the parent is able to: Be the central hub of the stepfamily. Be the main disciplinarian in the stepfamily. Be physically available (present). Be emotionally available (interested).  Today we’re looking at how […]

Continue reading about Role Blockers, Part Two

Mama J on January 14th, 2009

I’ve been watching the DVDs of the former TV series, “Everwood.”  I became interested in this show too late to watch it live on the WB, but once I learned it revolved around a single dad raising kids after his wife and their mother dies, I figured I could learn something from it.  (Plus it’s […]

Continue reading about Striving for Authenticity

Mama J on January 7th, 2009

Your turn:  If your spouse passed away, would you be the primary parent and guardian for your stepchildren?  If not, would you remain a part of their lives?  What feelings come up for you in either situation? While following other stepparenting blogs, especially those on my blogroll (scroll down the middle column), I pick up […]

Continue reading about For Stepparents to Ponder