Julie Arduini

Happy Birthday to your dear stepson.

Hi Julie :)

I'm not a step-parent but I'm a step-child, and I love my step-mother. (@Lynn Fisher Eastman) Before she came along, I would have bought into the unhappy step-child/step-parent thing. What a dreaded awful state, ho-hum. I had a step-mother before Lynn came along (yes, we share the same name :) ) and it was anything but a pleasant relationship for her or I. Sadly, life took a painful turn and she died from cancer before we could have the relationship that was just starting to mend when she passed. But, I wouldn't give back Lynn for anything now. It's because of her that I realized- who you're with makes a world of difference, marriage partners can bring out the best or worst- and she brings out the best in my father- which of course, trickles down into better parent/child relationships, too. And it's because of her that I learned that parenting has little to do with genetics or womb-relations- because we (her step-children) aren't any more biologically-tied to her than her other children. And though parenthood is rife with wish-I-could-do-over's (thank you humanity), the choice to love and do the best we know how is always there, as is the choice to follow Christ's path as best we can. I am a better woman, a better wife, and a better mother because of my step-mother. And I know she hates the title but I think it's time we take it back and re-frame it because it's a title worthy of honor.