Podcast.

 A few months ago, Brandon and I were asked to be on the No Grey Areas Podcast.  The host is Pat McCalla, Brandon's high school basketball coach and a former pastor of mine.  Crazy how worlds intersect. Brandon and I had no connection to each other when Pat was in each of our lives.

Pat asked Brandon and I to come on the podcast and talk stepfamily life.  There's a stat that says up to 70% of current American families are impacted by blended families. We of course said yes, we would be honored.  We are by no means experts in this field, but we've learned a lot, read a lot, listened a lot, and have implemented several ideas that have helped make our family thrive.

I'll share a few here.

1. We don't say the kids mom's name.  She is simply their mom. That's it.  It honors her position in their life, while removing the relationship connection associated with her name.  

2. We always pick up the kids on transition days.  They never get dropped off.  Why because of the excitement of going somewhere, instead of the disappointment of being left. 

3. We talk open and honestly about life and its struggles.  We let the kids feel the hurt of having two homes.  We talk about my journey as a stepmom and how I am always learning.  Brandon is open about how it's hard to be stuck in the middle sometimes. 

It was a super fun experience and not something I am used to doing. I just hope that something we said helps someone else on this journey.

Let me know in the comments what stood out to you.