The fairy tales make it sound so easy
just kiss the frog––he turns into a prince,
off into the beautiful sunset you ride,
hopefully marry and live happily ever after.
Life, you’ll find has other plans for you
even after you’ve married your prince.
Sometimes he mutates back into a frog
and breaks your heart with his misbehavior.
What’s a princess to do but kick him out,
set out on a new journey to find another
but definitely different type of frog.
Perhaps a horny toad or lizard will do.
The second time around is more difficult
now you may have extra baggage like
a dependent child or two plus lots of
emotional garbage to dump somewhere.
Not to mention the baggage he can bring
to the relationship––whether he’s divorced
or newly widowed, single or never married.
Ever hear of blended and step families?
Sometimes he has kids to join with yours
then you may even have one together.
Remarriage is not for the faint of heart
but only for the desperate and robust.
Two families blended as one are dangerousto one’s mental health and family unity.
Just hang in there, eventually they'll age,
toddlers become teens, teenagers––adults.
It can get quite complex and frustrating
to achieve your ultimate retirement goal.
An empty nest, your reward for enduring
to the end of blending and step parenting.
Now you can watch all your grown kids
make the same dumb mistakes you did.
Even though you’ve warned them often,
they will persist to learn the hard way.
It’s a never ending cycle, started innocently
wanting to get married, have kids and live
happily every after. So relax and enjoy it,
you've worked hard to find your one and only.