What Is a Blended Family?

A blended family is so much more than simply having step children and step parents. Sure, it starts when two people decide to start a new life together as a unit. But its what these two people bring to the family that makes for a blending. When these people fall in love, there really isn't any right or wrong about it. Nowadays, you see couples as mix-matched as pizza and syrup.

And don’t let them be so wildly in love with each other that they have thoughts of starting a family together. No one could stop Brad and Angie, though many tried. Despite how much their scandalous union stirred up the entertainment world. But they aren't the first to create such a diverse experience to call family. Let's not forget Josephine Baker and her Rainbow Tribe. These are some amazing examples of the Blended Family.

In a world where men marry men and women marry women; Blacks marry Whites and Asian marry Non-Asian; Republicans marry Democrats and Catholics marry Buddhists, there’s not much to the rule of falling in love, getting married and definitely, not to having children.

So let’s talk about the children; White parents adopting Hispanic, Korean, and/or Black children, Gay dads having surrogate babies, and Lesbian moms having in-vitro babies, grandparents raising their children’s children, an aunt single mothering a niece and a single dad working from home to raise three; two - his own and one because she’s a half sibling whose mother just died.

Some children like to think of their step-mother as another mom. Some kids like to keep the step-parent a step-parent. Half siblings forget they have different dads and think of themselves as whole siblings. Whole siblings create lasting bonds with their adopted sibling. I can think of a lot of examples for the Blended Family. The combinations are endless here. But how does the rest of the world define this type of family unit?

Alright. Here’s the official definition according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Blended Family - a family that includes children of a previous marriage of one spouse or both.

Hmmm... Not as elaborate as what I think it should be. Perhaps that definition will be challenged as more families show up with the many shades and backgrounds we're seeing grow in our communities. In the meantime, follow along as I share with you my experiences and lessons being a mom and step-mom in my own, traditional by definition, but truly not the only kind of, Blended Family.

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