Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Step, Three.

My Dad recently re-married.
Marriage number Three for him.
Stepparent number Three for Me!
I love his now-Wife. She's Sassy, Classy and isn't ashamed to admit that she doesn't like kids but for some reason loves Mine. And they Love her. And for those reasons, plus a million more, I Love her.
I Love that my Dad has found a Life companion.
I Love this newest addition to my Family Tree.
I now find myself in uncharted territory. A 30-something year old with a woman whom I have always called my Stepmom though she is technically my EX-Stepmom b/c she is no longer married to my Dad and now a NEW Stepmom.
My Dilemma is not one of emotional loyalties. It's more a matter of semantics.
How am I to differentiate between these two women in conversation or blogging?
Does a 30-something year old need a Stepmom? Or is she simply Dad's Wife?
Both Cinderella and The Boy have asked what they should now call her. Now that she is Grandpop's wife, who is she?

Good question, guys. I'll ask her.
[Does she even want to be elevated to grandmother status?]
Turn out, she does. She is thrilled, honored and touched that the kids feel strongly about assigning her a new moniker.
We tossed around several new nicknames: Nonna, Nanny, Nan, Gran and variations that combined her name + grandma.
In the end, we settled on Granny. Not our top choice but The Boy would settle for nothing less. [He's a stubborn little shit sometimes.]
So, Granny it is.
Growing up, I had just two grandmothers. Both of my grandfathers passed away when my parents were kids.
I sometimes envy our children. Thanks to me, and my extended/blended family they have grandparents to spare. That translates into extra lovin' and extra spoilin'.
What's not to love about that?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You continue to write the book on just how many permutations this whole "step" thing can take! I don't think you need a(nother) stepmom, but how great that she's wonderful. I think "My dad's wife, whom I love" works.