Being A Mom, But Not Really...

I spent the first five years of my adult life raising my first husbands son. He was eight years old when his father and I met and married. His father being eighteen years older than me was basically a single parent looking for a mother figure so he could do his own thing. It's a little hard being a wife and a stepmom at the age of eighteen but I truly believe I was born with a strong motherly instinct even though I was not born to bare my own child. Jason was not your typical eight year old either. He was born to a woman who had a drug addiction and it affected him deeply. He was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of four and put on a medication called Ritalin, that he took three times a day. He was spoiled by his grandparents, who felt sorry for him, and he was very stubborn. He was determined to master the skill of hating his stepmom but the harder he tried the more he realized he loved me. Outside of his grandmother he had no other woman to nurture him the way a mom does. By the time his father and I divorced he actually looked at me as a "real mom". I remarried within a year to a man who wass twenty-three years older than me. He had three adult children, two sons and a daughter. His oldest son was born in 1967, his middle born in 1969 and his daughter was born in 1973. I was born in 1970 so I had two stepchildren olderr than me, there was no mothering to do there. However, his daughter had a sixteen month old son with a mild form of cerebral palsy, Bryan. He was a beauitful, sweet baby. He turned sixteen this past January. He is and always has been an honor roll student even though the cerebral palsy caused a mild learning disability. He is well mannered, focused, has goals, respect for others along with empathy. He is our terrific kid. He calls me mom, even though im not his "real mom". I raised him. He has always lived with us and not because his birth mom was a bad mom, just not able to raise him. He has two other siblings and even though they have never lived together they get along and have a strong bond. He spends time at thier house with his natural mom (and calls her mom too) and there is no anger there. I am thankful to her for giving me the opportunity to raise such a great kid.