How My Stepparents Have Added to My Life

Seven years ago, after over 30 years of marriage, my in-laws announced that they were getting a divorce. It was a little stunning to me because it seemed to come out of the blue but my husband had told me that their marriage had always been a bit rocky so now one seemed too surprised. At the time I was heavily pregnant with our first child so my husband and I made the decision that we were going to stay out of all the drama that is inevitable in most divorces. It wasn't that hard, really because we lived 1400 miles away. Over time things settled down and my in-laws set the anger and resentment aside and seemed to become friends. There was even some talk on my father-in-laws part of trying to reconcile with my mother-in-law. Seemed almost like the perfect divorce and my husband and his three sisters didn't have to deal with any step-parents.

Fast forward to 2006 and out of the blue we get a phone call that my father-in-law will be remarrying in 2007. We were a bit stunned to say the least. We had seen both my in-laws together 6 months previous and hadn't heard a thing about my father-in-law seeing someone. Now here it is 2007 and the wedding is about 2 months away. My husband has agreed to stand up for his father so he will go home for the wedding and meet his new step-mother for the first time. Since my husband and I have been together for 15 years it is going to seem odd to think that suddenly one of my in-laws has a new spouse, my husband has a step-mom and my kids have a new grandma. I will be curious to see how much different his experience is from mine.