I am a 22 yr old Step child... My parents divorced when I was around 3-4 yo and both remarried shortly afterwards. I was raised for the most part by my aunt and uncle (long very screwed up story) until I was 14 yo when I went to live with my dad and my step-mom. My stepmother is the most amazing woman I have ever met. She has always treated me and my brother like we were her own kids (she never had kids of her own-by choice b/c she wanted to focus her time/energy on me and my lil bro) and has continued to do so. I was an incredibly rebellious teenager. My uncle (the one who raised me) sexually abused me for quite some time before I reported him and after living with him and my aunt for 9 years they dropped me off at a gas station to meet my father and step mother with nothing but the clothes on my back and a paper bag full of maxi-pads. I was kicked out of my private christian school, my church, and banned from my friends (another looong story). My stepmom never blinked an eye and took me in like her own child. Because of the abuse I quickly became extremely difficult to deal with and involved myself in lots of drug and alcohol abuse and became ensnared by the "wrong crowd." I was a horrid teen and I can admit that now. I put this woman through absolute hell and she never turned her back on me. I honestly dont know how she did it. I treated her like crap for so long and now this woman is more than just my stepmom, she is my best friend and someone I can trust and turn to no matter what.

My stepdad is also just as awesome. Unfortunately its not as much of a sweet tale. I went to live with my mom and stepdad when I was 15 and they were involved in dealing drugs at the time. My mom had a mental breakdown and my stepdad always treated me as his own and took care of me. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately cuz I think it saved their lives) they were arrested when I was 16 and have since been incarcerated. TO this day I visit my stepdad in jail more than his own kids do and he is still an amazing man that I love very much.

My purpose for writing this is because although I struggle with being a step-parent myself (my skids are 17 mo and 3 yo) I have wonderful role models to look at and to model my own life after. I want to encourage those of you that struggle with your skids as well to know that many of us really do appreciate you for everything you do for us even if we dont show it very well or even at all at the moment. One day your skids may look back and realize how much you have really done for them and appreciate it. I hope it doesnt come too late tho. I dont think I would have turned out the way I did without them and I am so thankful that they are in my life. I can only hope that I am even a fraction as awesome of a step-parent as two of the most loving and caring individuals that are in my own life.

Please keep your head up and know that we dont always mean to be so cruel to you Step-parents... it is difficult to be a skid and we dont always understand what goes on. I hope that this gives some of you some hope with your own skids.