Claudette's Blog

Stepfamilies are often in a bind when it comes to money. It's already tough to buy all that is needed when you're in a "traditional" family but when the same money that comes in needs to be divided to two different households, that's really hard and needs lots of creativitiy.

Often times, stepfamilies are starting over financially. The money that had been saved or accumulated in the past has now gone to pay for divorce bills and child support. Many times, little is left over to pay for any extras. Couples often complain about having fights and arguments about and over money. It creates lot of stress and tension not only for couples but for the children. They may feel that if they didn't ask for certain things, then the parents wouldn't fight so much.

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I'm finally taking the time to write about my stepdaughter's wedding. Can you believe it that it's already close to three weeks since it happened. Where did the time go?

I'm glad that I wrote my thoughts and feelings in my daily journal. It's amazing how fast things get blurry. After picking my son and granddaughter at the airport, getting all the stuff ready for the guests and meeting up with Julie's in-laws, we were now ready for the big day.

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I was finally able to figure out how to post photos on my blog. So here is the link to view some of the photos of the wedding. As I get more of them, I will update this blog. Feel free to comment if you wish. Click here to go the blog.

Arrived in Florida. I just have a few things to say before I move on. People! I just need to let you know that while driving 22 THOUSAND POUNDS of moving metal, I will not be able to stop on short notice. So if you insist on cutting me off on the highway while driving at 65 miles an hour, I may not be able to brake in time and may squish you. I would have no other choice but to say "OH MY GOD!".

Now that I got this off my chest, I would love to say that I really love Florida. I really liked our campground called Everglades Campground in Miami. It's really in Homestead but technically in Miami. We are surrounded by farms or I should say plots of land that are used to grow home and garden plants, decorative palm trees and even a few mango and avocadoes groves.

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I’m on the road again. My husband has the first driving shift and then it’s my turn. So I’m taking some time to catch up on what we’ve been up to so far.

Our campground in Yamessee was OK but not WOW! This was a KOA. Not much to do. The campground is clean and very wooded which is great in very hot days. We left early to visit Savannah, were we warmly greeted by Ted, a writer, educator, storyteller and our tour guide for the morning. The Savannah hospitality was immediately present as he warmly welcomed us to his hometown.

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We are off. We left Saturday morning with all our stuff packed for my stepdaughter’s wedding. WOW! A lot of stuff is needed. I had not realized all that we were to bring, but we are happy to be a part of such an important day.

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In two days, my husband and I leave for a two week trip to go to my oldest stepdaughter's wedding. We will be travelling in our RV taking about 5 days to get to Key West, where the wedding is being held. We then plan on driving back within 5 days, making various stops along the way to take time to be together.

This is really a special event for me as a stepmom. It is a time that I am there as someone to support my husband as well as well as stepdaughter in the most important day in her life. My contribution to my stepdaughter's special day is based on my love for her and not necessarily on duty. As a Stepmom, I choose to be there rather than have to. I helped her with various plans such as the music, the design of the program, the place setting, etc.

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