The Hand of Fate

When I became a step parent I was not given a handbook or even a flyer as to how I should behave but I thought since I was a reasonably intelligent man that I would be able to somehow muddle through. Truth be told I never really gave much thought to it when I married their mother because I just thought she would do the parenting and I would essentially stay out of her family decisions unless it had some direct bearing on our lives together. I in fact remember having the courage to tell my stepson this very thing in one of our first man-to-man conversations. I told him that I would not interfere in his life with his mother as it pertained to their relationship but if it affected my relationship with his mother then I would have something to say. At first I thought I wouldn’t have much to do on this agenda and again I was ashamed to say that I had no idea what real family dynamics were all about. In the first few years of my step-dad duties it was only my son that came under my stewardship and when the first real challenge set in: getting him up everyday for school it became distinctly apparent that I had to get involved and it was during this four year ordeal that I realized how much I loved my stepson even though I spent much of this time resenting him and doling out generous amounts of silent scorn.