A Real Modern Family

 The other day we took Madison (my stepson) to see his brother Alex. Madison and Alex share the same mother but have different dads. Alex's dad recently got married and now Alex and his half-brother and two stepsisters.  The kids got along well.  It was like they've known each other for a life time.   As our evening ended we decided that we would get the kids together on a regular basis.

 The next  night as I got Tyler ready for bed the questions came. "What do we call Madison's brother and his stepbrother and the girls." "What do we call Madison's brothers dad?" "Is miss Megan Madison stepmom?"

 I never really thought about labels that much. I don't refer to my sons as my stepson's because I view them as my son. The only time I'm referred to as a stepparent is when my sons are introducing me or if were in the mix company of my children's biological mothers.

 Thank God for Google! That's the place I turn to when Tyler asked me the tough questions. According to Google Madison's brother and his brothers stepbrother are his half brothers. While there is no blood line between the stepsisters and the brothers and my children some people would referred to them as cousins. I couldn't find the answer to what the kids would call Madison's brother's dad or his wife but when all the googling and researching was done I came up with this: we're called a family.

While the hit sitcom Modern Family depicts the life of a man married to a slightly younger woman, blended family dynamics, the challenge of trying to raise teenagers and preteens and a gay couple raising their child, I can honestly say that I (along with many of my friends) live in a real modern family. We don't have the glitz and glam of Hollywood to make every 30 minute episode of our lives a happily ever after moment. And when it comes to our own personal lights, camera, action we're faced with a great deal of uncertainty. For today's families that becomes a major challenge whether you consider yourself to be modern or traditional family.

We have family tensions that make us laugh and cry. We also have situations that that we wish we would never have to encounter but what many modern families have is love, kindness, and a genuine respect for the differences that make us who we are.

I love when Tyler asked me to tough questions (I've learned to stop trying to change the subject and to engage her and embrace her curiosity)...and I love my family even more.