By Natalie Angier — 2013
American households have never been more diverse, more surprising, more baffling. In this special issue of Science Times, Natalie Angier takes stock of our changing definition of family.
Read on www.nytimes.com
CLEAR ALL
Becoming a stepparent by blending families or marrying someone with kids can be rewarding and fulfilling. If you've never had kids, you'll get the chance to share your life with a younger person and help to shape his or her character.
My husband and I grope each other constantly. I don’t think a day goes by without at least one of us copping a feel. I say this proudly because after almost 20 years of being together, we are still hot for each other. And I don’t see any reason to hide this from our kids.
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Newly single moms can be horny as hell. I can testify.
They say that having kids changes everything. That is neurologically, psychologically, and economically true.
Conflict doesn’t mean the end of your remarriage, and can actually make it stronger. There are always going to be disagreements; you cannot avoid them entirely. What you can do, however, is become skilled at recovering from disputes by talking about your perspectives afterwards.
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Stepparenting itself— that is, forming a relationship with someone else's kid— isn't the hard part. It's the intense, conflicted emotions you experience as part of the transition into becoming a stepparent that are the real killer.
Many stepmothers begin the commitment phase of their relationships with an engagement ring. Women who love men with children hear the statistical improbability of successful remarriage and dismiss it, knowing in their hearts that theirs is the love that will beat the odds.
How to stop hating yourself and your step-kid, as well.
Our child is not just one of us. He is both of us. He is both our cultures. And as a family, we are both cultures together.
I’d never felt so white in my life—and that was before she saw me completely naked.