From College Student to Stepmom Overnight

For the past two years my days have started at 6AM. 😴

I wake up, teach online for a little bit and by 7:30 my step kids are wide awake requesting an entire minute-by-minute itinerary for the day.

I spend my days helping with schoolwork, making meals and snacks, taking kids to swim team, taking kids to soccer, playing legos, breaking up fights, running kids to doctors offices, folding laundry, making crafts, cleaning our home, and even Kings Dominion Trips.

I am completely consumed with the needs of my stepchildren.

When did this happen? When did I become responsible for two little people?

It all happened so fast.

Two years ago I had one person I was responsible for: myself.

Now I have two boys who need me for everything.

I went from staying up til 2AM watching Gossip Girl on Netflix, to barely having my eyes open at 8PM.

I went from college parties, to seven year old birthday parties.

I went from standing in line in the BYU cafeteria, to the parent pick-up line at my son’s school.

I went from being a full-time college student, to a full-time (step)mom.

I am 23 years old. My stepkids are 7 and 5.

Do you want to know how many 23 year old mom’s I find waiting for their kids outside of the elementary school? None.

I felt so out of place for so long.

Other 23 year olds are out with friends til the early hours of the morning. They don’t want to meet up and come hang out with me and the kids at the park, or attend my son’s school concert.

I had friends who tried to stay in touch. They’d talk about how cool it is to be raising kids so young and how they can’t wait to be the “fun uncle.”

They check in occasionally but in two years they’ve never once met my step kids.

It’s not their fault. Kids are a lot, haha. From the time I wake up to the time I go to bed my focus is on them.

It can be a lonely and thankless job sometimes. All mom’s give up parts of themselves in order to raise their children, but stepmoms give up parts of themselves to raise children that aren’t even theirs. Stepmoms haven’t planned to become parents. We don’t have 9 months to prepare for the arrival of our children.

I had one night. A first date. On that first date I had to decide right away whether I was going to be raising two kids starting tomorrow, or not.

I clearly decided, yes!

Sometimes I miss my 2AM Netflix binging, or my sleeping in past 6AM.

But, I would never go back. This is what I’ve always wanted. A fiancé that I am obsessed with, and two kids that, while they weren’t grown in my belly, are mine.