The Ugg-ly Side of Blended Families
The Ugg-ly Side of Blended Families
I haven’t brought up Ex and his Next for a while, and for good reason. What with J graduating cum laude from college (not that I’m bragging) and actually landing a job in this market (okay, so I’m bragging), L off to her junior year in college and K finally emerging from her year-long funk, we grownups have been on our best behavior for the girls’ sake: each of us pretending to tolerate the other.
Then the Evil Stepsister (ES) reared her head and all hell broke loose just as she left for fashion school.
ES had left her Ugg boots behind. K coveted and took them, then compounded her “crime” by lying to her dad and step about it. Not nice, but hardly a capitol offense. From the ensuing hoopla, you would have thought that she had taken a kidney, not a pair of last season’s footwear.
Branding her “a liar and a thief,” her father immediately “banned” her from his house — even though she returned the boots once she was caught, having worn them one day. Existential question: if she really meant to “steal” the boots, would she be so dumb to wear them at her dad’s house? I don’t think so.
Fanning the flames, ES went into full hysteria mode; Ex became even more unhinged, bizarrely taking his stepdaughter’s side without even considering what had instigated the whole episode.
While K lay curled in a fetal position in bed back at my house, Ex called the house phone 12 times; after listening to his diatribe against my baby twice, I stopped answering. So he called my cell. Inexplicably, ES also called my cell. Soon the whole family was involved with this manufactured “crisis.”
L, the classic middle child, and a psych major, tried to diffuse the situation with the following email:
“Dad, Let me start with I love you, and will always love you, no matter what, but right now I am very upset with what I have been hearing.
“Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding of the situation is that ES was mean to K like usual, and she retaliated by stealing her boots. Neither was in the right, and K's reaction of taking the boots was definitely wrong, but I don't understand why you are completely demonizing her and rewarding ES, who truth be told, has been arrested for shoplifting and not the most reliable source. First off, it is not your place to interfere here. Honestly, this is a sibling issue — I didn't hear you call J a liar and a thief when, while visiting her, we found out she had taken several of my favorite shirts with her to school. Full confession here: I have one of K's shirts here at school. Am I a liar and a thief?”
I have to kvell here that I’m incredibly proud of my L for standing up for her sister.
She posted her “Dad Rant” to her sisters’ Facebook private page.
K responded:
Re: Dad Rant
"I love you L…and what shirt did you take?"
L responded:.
Re: Dad Rant
"I "accidentally" took a black short sleeved v-neck;) sorry!"
J responded:
Re: Dad Rant
"You took that v-neck? I was looking to steal it myself!!!"
I love my girls!
K made apologies all around which were grudgingly accepted by Ex and Next. However more groveling seems to be required to appease the evil one.
Not going to happen. Ugh.
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