At some point in our life we went through something traumatic and lost someone that we called our blood. Or sometimes we never experienced losing that person leaving us in one way or another. Then someone else decides to take their place. This special person isn't yours by blood but by choice. They decided to take you as their own and do not even reconsider the thought that you aren't their family.

Some people may go their lives of never having something happen to a family member and the affected spouse brings someone in to take their place. Some may have it happen before they were born and just grew up with the new family member as their biological.

Each level of step family impacts us so differently. I grew up with my mom and dad side not having the biological grandfather in picture. I grew up with two step grandpas. One had his own family prior to joining mine. He had other kids he loved yet he took it upon himself to raise my mom as if she was biological to him. He raised me alongside the other grandkids as if I was related to him. The other took my dad and his siblings and said that was his biological children. He lived in his small town where everyone knew the kids as biologically related to him.

Yet some people grow up with all biological family and some traumatic event happens whether it is divorce or life taken from an event. Then eventually down the road they receive a step family member. It is new and sometimes they are seen as a replacement. Sometimes we go about our life hating this person because they are not the biological person. Where others adjust (quickly or long term) to the new step person and learn to accept them as maybe a fake biological family member.

But this article isn't about how we feel about them or how we adapted to them. This is about how we want to thank them for accepting us.

So thank you. Thank you for accepting me when you didn't have to. Thank you for loving me as if you are the reason I exist. Thank you for bringing us to family events and holidays and acting like we aren't all related to each other despite the "Step" title in place. Thank you for acting like nothing is different between us. We are grateful for you being in our life. We are happy that you treat us as your own and accepted us. Maybe even for some people thank you for adopting me.

Despite the cause of events that brought you into this world to us, we would never change anything to take you out of it. So thank you for being the unselfish person you are and loving me.