And Then There Were Five

I didn’t have any children of my own. I was thirty years old when I went through a divorce and lived the next ten years alone. Do the math! My biological clock was just about tuckered out!

I had learned to cook for one. I was independent. I kept a very tidy, clutter-free house. I came and went without having to answer to anyone. I didn’t have any pets. Well, I did attempt to keep a beta fish alive for a while, but we won’t get into that!

I have two adorable nephews that were/are just like my own! When they were young, they spent so much time with me. In fact, when my oldest nephew was just learning to talk, he couldn’t say ‘Aunt Edie’ and would say ‘Kiki” instead. Needless to say, that melted my heart, and I’ve kept the nickname all these years. He’s 28 years old now!

I shared the story of how Chris and I met here. Go read that before continuing. He had been divorced almost two years when we were introduced. He had three children ages 12, 14, and 17. Two daughters and a son.

I don’t think either of us had a clue what real life would be like after meeting, dating, and getting married all in just three short months. I went from living alone in a clean, clutter-free house to living together with a husband and three teenagers in a cluttered chaotic house!

I loved kids. I had been a youth leader for ten years and had developed sweet relationships with all the teenagers at my church. In fact, the whole youth group were honorary attendants at our wedding. They had special seating on the front row.

So, I was confident my new family of five would be so great and we’d live happily ever after. Boy was I wrong!!! I think we all had unspoken expectations of what we thought our new family would look like. We each were dealing with our own emotions but had no idea how to process or work through them. Things got really hard. I didn’t have anyone in my inner circle who had been divorced and got remarried and blended a family successfully. I’d have to figure this out on my own.