Apples To Apples

We are learning a new version of family at our house. Adding a new person to the mix, one who has moved past "friend" and "significant other" to "husband" and "stepfather".

This is the part I was really, really anxious about. I just couldn't see it; I had such a strong sense of identity in my home, with my kids. I didn't know how in the world it was going to work.

But, to my surprise, it's been far smoother than I anticipated. A lot of it has to do with the man himself. He is flexible and laid-back in ways that I did not anticipate.

But I think it's given all of us different roles, one that we are embracing, carefully and cautiously. Somehow things have changed and everybody seems to be relaxing, settling down, feeling less stressed and panicked and overwhelmed. It just seems that our burden is shared now, in a way that perhaps we didn't foresee.

Last night after dinner, David - my youngest - declared, "Okay. Now we're going to have a HUGE game of Apples To Apples!" We all had things to do - write thank-you's, study for tests, wash dishes - but this was a first, David organizing a game. So we set aside all our stuff and met for a game of Junior Apples To Apples.

We laughed. We fought, just a bit, in fun.

We had time together. It came in a way that it had never come before. It was sweet, precious fun.

It was new, and I count it as a blessing and joy, a bonus coming from the changes wrought by taking a risk and moving forward. Seems like I'm finding a new kind of contentment.

I'm grateful.