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Why Blended Families Are A Lot Like the United Nations
November 2nd, 2009
This is the second marriage for my husband and I. We put a lot of thought into our relationship and didn’t rush into anything. Having been through a divorce and now having a child to think of as well we took things very slooooowly. We’re coming up on 5 years. We dated for 3 and our 2 year wedding anniversary is coming up in February.
Every September since we’ve been together we start working out the holiday schedule. I have my daughter from a previous marriage and he has a daughter from his previous marriage. My ex has remarried and so has my husband’s ex. That means there are 6 busy adults to contend with. Plus school schedules, winter recitals and school concerts to take into consideration. This year after having worked out the holiday schedule AND the summer vacation schedule we had to submit our schedule to the other parents to see if they were OK with it.
There is of course the back and forth that happens…I can’t on this day but I want on that day…etc. I got to thinking about this and it reminds me of the United Nations.
Each nation/parent comes together – each with their own agenda/schedule – and try to make decisions that are best for the world/child while advancing their own needs. Of course there is always one rogue nation/parent that refuses to play nice and then the negations start. I’m happy to say that this year went fairly smoothly. So far the “rogue” nation/parent has decided to play nice. I’ve heard it say that diplomatic relationships are more art than science and I believe that to be true. What worked last year may not work this year and it’s always to best to be “diplomatic” (see definition number 5 here) when dealing with holiday schedules and a rogue nation – I mean parent : D
test Filed under Ramblings | Tags: blended families, holidays, parenting, second marriages, step children | Comments (2)2 Responses to “Why Blended Families Are A Lot Like the United Nations”
I’m worried about just dealing with the other parent – it hadn’t occurred to me that the politics could expand with partners. Loved the comparison!
Hi Pat!
It was much simpler before the ex’s remarried! Now we have to take into account the new spouses of our ex’s work schedules and visitation schedules with their children from their previous marriage. It’s amazing that anything gets scheduled! I’m glad you liked the comparison!