Being the Evil Stepmother

For some reason society has this stigma that being a part of a blended family with stepparents and stepchildren is a bad thing. Perhaps this all started the fairy tale "Cinderella", after all the stepmother was considered "evil" or "wicked". So that the role we are suppose to portray as a stepmother? Sometimes one has to wonder, when all of our efforts seem to go unnoticed and unappreciated.

I am the stepmother to an 11 year old stepdaughter who thoroughly enjoys the perks of having an extended family in both households. She has extra parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles to show her affection and of course, the most important thing, to buy her gifts. That is what it all comes down to, the bottom line, what is in it for me? That is the logical in my stepdaughter's mind. How many kids do you know that get to have numerous Christmas's that are usually orchestrated around her visitation schedule and in addition, gets to have 2 separate birthday celebrations complete with gifts, cake, ice cream, and all the fun that follows?

The big question is who arranges these events to coordinate with my stepdaughter's visitation schedule, well surely it is not her father, it is me, the so called "evil stepmother". I am the one scrounging for ideas for prospective gift givers searching for what this child may need or want. A child who is literally spoiled rotten at her mother's house and shows no gratitude or appreciation for anything she is given. I have heard responses from her in acceptance of gifts such as "I already have this at my mom's house", "another Barbie?", and "what am I suppose to do with this". Then when she does get gifts that she does want they usually end up in a pile in her closet for several months. They are only found, when I, the "evil stepmother" go through her closet and clean it, finding toys still in boxes unopened and shirts with tags still on them wadded up in the corner untouched for months.