14 years has flown by and I couldn’t be prouder of her. The only thing that makes me this proud is the work her dad’s family and kine have done to coparent and raise one hell of a kid. We had her young, I was 19 he was 20, and we split up when she was 2. No fights, nothing nasty, we were young and just didn’t fit each other anymore. He is married now with 2 sons and a baby girl on the way, and I’m in a healthy stable relationship with a man who loves our daughter as his own. I get along with my ex, his wife, her whole family, and their sons call me auntie Amy. My ex and my boyfriend get along, my ex’s 2 year old is fussy AF and won’t let anyone but his mom/dad hold him, but he loves my boyfriend and will run to him when we come over to show him his toys or just for a hug. It’s beautiful.

Our family may not be what it’s “supposed“ to be, but my daughter feels loved and nurtured and supported from all sides and has a strong healthy foundation and sense of self. Her advisor in school told us that her best feature was that she is unapologetically herself. She’s confident, she is kind, she is compassionate, and she is loved by so many “bonus” family members. She has only ever known her family to be this way, and we have all worked together to create a solid foundation for her. I’m just as proud of us as I am of her.

I am thankful for the extra family in my daughter’s life, for their love and support of me as her mother even though my ex has his own family now. I love him, I love his wife, I love their family. It can be done, ladies. It can be done. It may not always be easy, sometimes you may want to slam your head against the wall. But as long as everyone acts with the child’s best interest at heart instead of their own, everything can work out just fine

My baby with her dad and bonus mom

With me and my boyfriend

My girl with my mom

And with her besties