Clearing

Both E and I are in the process of clearing out our spaces. I have to rent mine and he has to make room for us in his. This morning he successfully gave away his early 90's acid-wash, black-mirrored bedroom set to a Gatineau used furniture store. They came with a big truck and struggled to get the monstrous suite out of the basement guestroom. E then gave them some cash to move his daughter's bed down to the empty room, which saved us the major hassle of trying to do it ourselves. That leaves her room free for A's stuff. I'll try to move that over soon, so the room will become her bedroom/my office. This might work.

Everything still feels pretty iffy to me. Am I really re-married? I'm having troubled believing it. I'm still too fatigued to process anything clearly. I'm at my house, doing my usual Monday night thing with A. E is doing his usual baseball thing with his son. We're married, but separate, which is why this move to his place does make sense, despite being so unexpected. I really thought we could do the bi-provincial marriage thing, but now . . . it makes more sense to dive in, which is maybe what we should have planned for to begin with.

How do you make a blended family work? I' ve been scouring webistes. I read a book about stepmothers and I know I have my work cut out for me. We made some progress today when E consulted with is ex about her bedtime routines. If we can maintain a consistent routine at his place, I may be able to handle the nightly television fest, because I'll keep A out of the house at the library or violin lessons until it is safe to return home. Her Waldorf education doesn't jive with his permissive parenting.

I hope we can work it out. We're both too aware of the odds against us. 60% of second marriages end. The first year is the hardest. For me, the first 24 hours were challenge enough.

Anyway, we're both pretty tough, so I'll bet on us. but I'm sure I'll need this space as my ever-present pressure valve.