First of all, want to thank all of you that posted with advice & kind words through all this. So an update: his Tuesday my hubby & I attended this oldest son's Melchizedek priesthood thing. I meditated & prayed beforehand & I think that helped me keep me calm & to be mindful that this was about my beloved hub sharing the last evening his son was going to be in his hometown. TBM step-son looked shocked to see us there -- he had told the one aunt on his mom's side that I still speak to -- actually she's an in-law to them too, but whatever, she's a great lady in a gaggle of dysfunction. So his aunt asked us to if she could take our daughter & younger son shopping. We agreed & then she told us the day of the priesthood thing that TBM step-son asked if she could bring his little bro and sis. My hub was hurt that he didn't ask him to be there -- thought his son was mad about us not coming to the Mormon ranch bbq & 3-hour mess at the ward on Sunday. Anyway, so there we were parked right behind TBM step-son & his TBM gf's family. He turns around in the back seat & has a look of "WTF" when he sees me and his dad pulling up behind them LOL! Anyway, long story short, his skin was acne-ridden -- sign for him of major stress. His aunt asked us all to pose with him for pics for her before the priesthood endowment. My TBM stepson by then was barely holding back tears & he smiled when his aunt asked me to hug him for a pic. We did & I cried & joked about how lightning would now strike him for posing with evil stepmom! He laughed & that broke a lot of tension. Anyway, it also helped majorly that ALL of the TBMs there were the few I didn't have issues with before -- good, decent people & I got to talk to them about random things like my Iphone problems, etc. And TBM stepson's little brother & sister got to spend almost 2 hours with their big bro with their parents NOT arguing and no tension.

So finally, we asked him how we could keep in touch with him as he goes through the SLC MTC and finally to Argentina & he said he can't be on his Facebook but he is allowed to e-mail family once a week and make phone calls on Xmas & on Mother's Day or also Skype him once a week. Also this evening his little bro told me that he found out that his brother's TBM girlfriend with be updating his FB, ha! Clever girl -- good way to keep tabs on him & monitor his activities in another country known for fine food & fine women :)

So to conclude, big hugs to all and to the mods and creators of this board!!!

P.S. -- Apologies for typos & grammar lapses -- tired & it's been quite a busy week.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2013 12:45AM by myantonia.

Myantonia - I was worried about how things were going with you. You were super stressed out. I am happy to hear that this worked out as well as it did. Keep in touch with your step-son and be supportive of him no matter what he does. He is your hub's son and your step son. Even if he remains a TBM, let him know you love him lots. Try to ignore the people who caused so much stress in the first place. For everyone's sake, ignore them as much as possible.

It's so sad that the Church causes so much stress within families. It sounds like things went well though, so that's one happy event anyway. Glad to hear it.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I usually don't want to think about what lies ahead. I have steps, too. Like my kids, some are TBM and some hate the church. None know yet that I'm out. Their dad is still TBM. I foresee a complicated future but your story gives me hope. Our kids are raised but we will be dealing with grandkids whom we adore until we ride off into the sunset.