Recently, in a gripe fest about things in life I grumbled about something my stepson’s mother had done (or more accurately hadn’t done) and in response, someone said to me, “But, she’ll always be that way. You cannot expect her to do things any differently – so stop expecting her to change.” I realized that there was a part of me that thought, Gosh, maybe if I wait long enough, she’ll realize that maybe her way doesn’t work. Odds are, however, that her way works just fine as far as she’s concerned. And, well… she doesn’t have to live her life to my specifications. Ouch.

Oprah calls these sort of moments “Aha!” moments. Others might call this a lightbulb moment. Though it wasn’t necessarily a life changing revelation, it is a bit of knowledge that will help when I’m frustrated. The only person I can change is myself – I can only control how I react to things. Sure, it’s cliche – but cliches are such because most of the time THEY’RE TRUE.

Have you had any blended family lightbulb moments? If so, what were they?

Photo credit: James Bowe