OFFICIAL BLOG

Fieldnotes

How Are You Feeling about the Holiday Season?

Published by Wednesday Martin
Holidays can be extra stressful if you think you have to make everything perfect in a stepfamily!
Holidays can be extra stressful if you think you have to make everything perfect in a stepfamily!


Do the impending holidays have you feeling extra stressed? You're not alone. At holiday time, stepfamilies may deal with issues — kids in loyalty binds "boycotting" dad and stepmom; an unsupportive ex reneging on a holiday schedule; couples feeling splintered by his excitement to see the very kids who might be hostile and rejecting toward her — that first families don't even have to think about. And stepmom — the culturally-designated "blending agent" of the stepfamily — is likely to feel the pressure most of all.


Mary Kelly-Williams — Stepmonster Support Group Nov. 17th

Published by Wednesday Martin
Mary Kelly-Williams of marriedwithbaggage.com helps stepmothers stay sane with her Stepmonster support group
Mary Kelly-Williams of marriedwithbaggage.com helps stepmothers stay sane with her Stepmonster support group


Mary Kelly-Williams is running a support group for women with stepkids, structured in part around Stepmonster but mostly around her incredible knowledge and expertise as a stepfamily coach and therapist of 15 years. Mary is in a remarriage with children, too. Check it out — and tell your Colorado friends...


Stepmonster at JCC in Tenafly, NJ

Published by Wednesday Martin
Come listen to a talk and Q&A; session on stepfamily life!
Come listen to a talk and Q&A; session on stepfamily life!

Are you a New Jersey or New York City stepmom, stepfamily member, or just curious about stepfamily life? Come listen to my talk at the JCC of the Palisades this Thursday evening!


How Did/Do You Handle Teen Tsuris??

Published by Wednesday Martin
Teens feel the imperative to separate —  stepmothers frequently feel obliged to blend. Talk about a collision course!
Teens feel the imperative to separate — stepmothers frequently feel obliged to blend. Talk about a collision course!


It doesn't matter if you don't speak Yiddish — once your child or stepchild enters the teen years, you're living the definition of tsuris!


Have Teen Stepkids? Take Heart!

Published by Wednesday Martin
Dealing with teen stepkids can polarize the couple. Read what does Susan Wisdom, author of Stepcoupling, has to say.
Dealing with teen stepkids can polarize the couple. Read what does Susan Wisdom, author of Stepcoupling, has to say.


Susan Wisdom, author of Stepcoupling, wrote a guest post on my Psychology Today blog today. Hope you'll have a read...and leave a comment:


When and Why the Kids Don't Come First

Published by Wednesday Martin
If the partnership gets shunted to the back burner whenever his kids are around, it's a recipe for resentment and martial/stepfamily tension
If the partnership gets shunted to the back burner whenever his kids are around, it's a recipe for resentment and martial/stepfamily tension

I would love your thoughts on my new piece on stepmothering for the Huffington Post: please post a comment!