This Is For You, My Love

I married the love of my life a short four months ago in November. I was well aware when I "met" him, that he had a six year old daughter with a woman who tortured me in high school. Adolescence is hard, but having a schizophrenic, deeply disturbed and depressed teenage girl set her sights on you can make it especially miserable. I was threatened, stalked, and bullied by her on a regular basis. It was purely coincidental when she ended up in the same town I happened to be in a thousand miles away from Freeport, Illinois where we grew up.

 I knew I loved my husband from the moment I first saw him. I was fourteen years old and I knew he was the only one to understand me for who I really was. Of course, fifteen year old boys do not usually recognize a woman's worth, which is why it was another ten years before we would "meet" again. You can not control the hearts desires and although I fought a good fight, I was swept away by his charm.

Still, with love comes responsibility, and my love for my husbnad proved no exception. I knew he and his other high school girlfriend had a six year daughter; I loved the little girl before I met her. I found myself scouring the internet for girls' bedroom sets and was constantly distracted by the "little girls" sections while shopping for a young girl I had never met, but I knew that someday I would be able to show her what "Step mom" can really mean. I knew that I would come to show her that the label is just that- a label. I could be her friend, her confidante, and I looked forward to that. I also knew, however, that her mother would make that incredibly difficult for me.

I tried to prepare myself for the misery her mother would unleash on my happy little daydream, but I never imagined it could be this bad...

This is my story, my tale of a journey through the world of "step-motherhood. " Even more, this is my salute to women all over the world that take on the difficult task of balancing past and present relationships, that choose to love and show compassion when it was not required of them, and that constantly offer up themselves no matter how difficult. This is my homage to my Alivia, a little girl that may not necessarily know how much or why I love her, and a young woman who has brightened my world. This is for my stepdaughter.