Halloween with A Blended Family

Cami, Ayden, Grandpa Dave, and Ali Halloween 2011

My second post on Her View from Home is about how we do Halloween with our unique family.
Link.

Divorce can completely change the way your family plans the holidays. Even Halloween can be so much more complicated when you insert exes, step-parents, and step-siblings.

The first Halloween during our separation was extremely uncomfortable. My ex-husband went trick-or-treating with us, with two mutual friends of ours as a couple. The girls ran ahead of us, racing one another to each house, leaving the adults to walk together, in awkward silence. I had to continuously remind myself why we were trick-or-treating together in the first place. We had to be grown-ups and put our differences aside for the kids for an hour and a half if we wanted to truly put them first. I kept my mouth shut and we made it through that hour and a half. Once we each met someone, holidays became even more complicated.

Trish and Bob Halloween 2010

During mediation, we decided to forgo swapping Halloween every year and to each take the girls for a couple of hours on Halloween. They grow up so fast, and neither of us wanted to miss a single Halloween of trick-or-treating, school parties, and costumes.

This year, the girls will begin trick-or-treating with their dad, step-mom, and siblings early in the evening, and will finish the night trick-or treating with us. We take turns assisting in the classroom parties, and this year Molly and I both plan to help during Cami's class party. Cami does not have to worry that it will be awkward or that we will not get along. The only thing she worries about is how everyone else reacts to our unique situation. People are not usually understanding about our family, and many make comments. It is never easy to put the children first, but I believe it is worth it. Follow the link to HVFH to read more.

HVFH -Halloween With A Blended Family

Bob and the Girls Halloween 2010