Dealing With Mom's Snide Comments

Over the years I've been the subject of plenty of snide comments from our bio mom. She's been especially bad lately making comments about who the real mother of my stepdaughter is and how selfish my intentions are in stepparenting her. I'm pretty sure that feeding, clothing and caring for a kid is not filled with evil intent and I have enough very positive feedback about my efforts from all sides so I try to overlook the rudeness and silliness of her comments.  But mean comments from bio moms are probably one of the biggest challenges a stepmother will face - and the most hurtful.

In my mind, my job as a step-parent is to give my husband's daughter all the love, caring and guidance I can give her. We've been together for a long time now and in the face of a very unstable bio mom, our gal has turned to me for trust, safety and stability. I'd love it if she needed less of that from me and had more of that from her biological mom, but it is what it is.

After a particularly vicious attack recently by our bio mom, I got in my car shaking and in tears. Thankfully my husband was there to comfort me but it took me a while to get past it. At the end of the day the thought came to me that I must refuse to allow other's evil to poison my life or my soul. I just don't have time to entertain meanness directed at me from someone who has made such a total mess of their own life. Once I was able to get that perspective back I was able to let go of the shock, hurt and offense that gripped me that day.

I reminded myself too that I don't want to become like bio mom, so I can't allow her to draw me into her ugliness and I can't ever stoop to her level to fight and be nasty. I have been supremely self-controlled on this note, but there have been times where my voice got a little louder and angrier than I wanted. I am happiest when I walk away with my head held high, my integrity intact and my grace in place. I was so blindsided that day that I didn't have time to think, I was in a fight or flight mode because of her sudden attack. But it gave me a chance to think about how I want to act and what I want to do next time. So I'm better prepared for something I know will happen again out of the blue someday.

When I stay in my center, I can weather the storms better and walk away feeling less hurt and stunned. It's important to me that I walk away feeling good about myself regardless of what's said about me. I can do that my mastering my own emotions and behavior. Then I can stand with my head held high, knowing that I'm doing right by my stepdaughter, my husband and perhaps most importantly by myself.