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The Target Temper Tantrum of 2012

stepmotherhood

29 Dec

Since moving in with Chris and J and becoming a sort of ‘partial stepparent,’ several of my friends have made comments like “I don’t know how you do it!” or likening me to some kind of glorious cherub for my mad parenting skillz.  And, you know, sometimes I do think I deserve props for helping take care of a child that’s in no way biologically connected to me.

But then I remember the time, about a year ago, that I had a temper tantrum in Target.

Yup.

An honest to God, “I’m angry and I’m leaving” temper tantrum.  I got over the whole kicking-screaming-crying thing years ago, thank goodness, but this was certainly the adult equivalent.

And do you wanna know why?  Do you wanna know what made me so upset that I lost my cool in a chain retail store and had to go outside to my car alone to calm down?

I wanted the green bath mat.

Seriously.

I wanted the green bath mat and J wanted the black bath mat and Chris wasn’t immediately agreeing with me as the adult and I just lost it.

I was moving in with them that month and we were decorating what would be becoming our shared bathroom.  And I wanted that bath mat.  I knew for a fact that it would match our shower curtain and would look really lovely and WHY DIDN’T EVERYONE ELSE UNDERSTAND THAT?!  Didn’t they want me to be a part of their family?!  Didn’t they trust my judgement or care about my opinion?!

Suddenly my brain had turned a simple decision into something ultra-meaningful.

And for me, in that moment, it really was.  It was like this random object was representing my belonging and having a say, and now I somehow wasn’t meshing with everyone else and this was a huge issue in my mind and I had to get out of there.

So I did.

I went to my car and I took a few deep breaths and I can’t remember perfectly clearly now but I’m pretty sure I held back some tears.

And then, of course, after sitting and fuming for a few minutes, I realized that I was being an idiot and all of this fuss was over a stupid bath mat.  And that Chris never said he didn’t like the green one, he was just trying to look at all of the options.  And that J was eight years old and liked black things and that was really the end of the argument for her.

And they probably still wanted to live with me even if they DID like other bath mat colors anyway.

I tell you this story because I feel like it can be easy for things to escalate into something personal in a non-biological family dynamic.  If people aren’t on the same page, it can feel like it’s because you’re not related – that somehow your lack of shared bloodline is the cause, and not just that people have varied preferences.

And that can be hard to realize and navigate and be in tune to.  So I just wanted to be a source of reassurance for anyone else out there who may find herself with less-than-graceful reactions to seemingly innocuous things.  It’s not that those reactions are okay (Come on Grady, you’re a grown woman for goodness sakes!) but the feelings certainly are.

Luckily, I am getting better and I’m -usually- able to tell when I’m escalating something just because of my “not part of the club” insecurities.  But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.

(And, for the record, we totally got the green bath mat.  And it DOES match our shower curtain.  So I really didn’t have anything to worry about anyway.)

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Comments

  1. Iamsem says

    December 29, 2013 at 11:54 pm

    it's not easy Grady but it sounds like you've got a handle on it. I'm with ya girl xo Sharon

    Reply
  2. Scarlett Ridgway Savage says

    December 30, 2013 at 1:54 am

    J would have wanted you to move in even if the bath mat was grey. She's not crazy about grey. 😉

    Reply
  3. Auntie Lin says

    December 30, 2013 at 11:00 am

    It's called compromise, Grady…. & SOMETIMES we flip a coin & let the other person "have it THEIR way"… like at BK………. & another time it can be the other person's choice….. NOTHING OUT there is 100%…….. & they say it should be 50/50…….. but in YOUR situation..it might be 33/33/33……. Ya know what I mean… I think the 3 of you are adorable together & it seems like you're working it all out………….& THAT's the LIFE LESSON…………. :>) LOVE YOU!!

    Reply
  4. Karina says

    March 18, 2014 at 8:35 am

    Just flipping through your blog Grady, and yes I've had so many little moments like this, but it's important to remember that biological parents have them too. When I was a kid my mom had the full time job and my dad stayed home with me. Because I was with him all the time, I always took his side. It used to really hurt my Mom's feelings that I always sided with him (I have a really similar memory to this with my mom, dad, and a shower curtain). So you are not alone, everyone feels left out of the circle sometimes. Really glad you write so openly about your pre-step-parenting experiences! Very helpful.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Stepmom Club Podcast Episode 11 – Stepmom Inner Peace - gradybird blog says:
    November 30, 2018 at 1:44 pm

    […] Target Temper Tantrum Blog Post […]

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Hi There, I’m Grady!


I'm a wife and stepmama obsessed with dresses, planners, and iced coffees bigger than my head.

I believe that having a happy, healthy stepfamily is not only possible but necessary for stepmom sanity, and I hope to provide a place of support for stepmoms who need to know someone else just
"gets it.”

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