A blended family is defined as a family that consists of a couple and all of their children from this and all previous relationships. I come from a blended family. My mom had me and then my dad left us, so we moved to Colorado from New Mexico. After a couple of years of us being on our own, she met my stepdad, had my sister and brother, and then when I was in the sixth grade, we adopted my two youngest brothers. On top of that, from my father, I have another brother. While having a blended family sounds pretty neat, it comes with its struggles no matter the novelty of it
Not only is it different than most kids that have parents that stayed together, it's also a completely different culture. My mom is Hispanic and was raised Catholic and my stepdad is White and Jewish. Luckily, their cultures never clashed but our traditions are little different. We celebrate Christmas and we also set up a menorah but all of us did our First Holy Communions and Confirmations, rather than having bar mitzvahs.
Having a blended family has been eye-opening for me because I get an entirely different view of life than people that have "normal" families. I experienced heartbreak, excitement, and as added bonus, I got to be in my parents' wedding.
On top of my different family dynamic, I have four sets of grandparents. It's hectic and hard to remember to give them the attention that they all deserve, but it's always handy to have a ton of grandparents in your corner when you need space from your parents or money for rent.
People always assume that just because you have separated parents, that means that you get two times more than what you would get with non-separated parents but that's not always how it ends up being. Luckily, I have a huge support group from my blended family.
My family has had their ups and downs and their struggles just like other families, it just feels like there's a lot more love to go around than in other families. I know that I don't speak for everyone with a blended family, but I think that having the type of family that I have has shaped me into the person that I am today. I have a different perception of how love and relationships work and for that I am grateful.
I wouldn't trade my wonderful and blended family for anything in the world. Family trips are hectic, we can't go to Walmart without at least one crisis going on, and going out to dinner is like trying to diffuse a bomb sometimes, but there's a ton of laughs and memories that also come with the craziness.
