My kids visit their dad every weekend. His new wife tried to get close, but my daughters—Mara, 11, and Lacey, 8—only ever called her by name. I respected that boundary.
Then one day, my ex demanded, “You must tell them to call my wife Mom!” I said a firm, “Absolutely not.”
The next day, I was picking up the kids and froze. They ran out of the house calling her “Mom” like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I stood by my car, blinking, stunned. The girls were smiling, cheerful, “Bye, Mom!” they chimed in unison. Dana, the stepmom, looked just as shocked as I felt. Something was off.
In the car, the girls were calm, snacking, humming. But the word “Mom” echoed in my head like a warning bell.
Finally, I asked, “So… calling Dana ‘Mom’ now?”
Mara spoke first: “She made us. Dad said if we didn’t, we’d get in trouble.”
Lacey added, wide-eyed: “She said we had to do it while you were watching, so you’d ‘get the message.’”
My blood pressure shot through the roof. I took a deep breath. “Thanks for telling me. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
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