Happy ALMOST Mother's Day.  I became a mom on July 21, 2007.  When I became a mom, my son was 6 years old.  On that day -- I married a wonderful man and became step-mom to a wonderful son.

Step anythings get a pretty bad rap (thank you Cinderella, Snow White).  I love my role as a step mom.  Here are some of the things I have learned along the way:

Never Forget he has a mom already.  He has that special bond between mother and son and you should honor that bond, not be jealous of it.  If you respect that, you will find that he has plenty of room in his heart to love you.

Always Do everything you would do for your own natural child.  You were asked to join a family that was already started.  You accepted that challenge and it takes someone special to kiss the boo boos, wipe the tears, study the math homework, encourage at t-ball and wash the dirty underwear.

Never Make Them Feel guilty for loving their mom.  Encourage THAT love and you'll see the love returned to YOU.

Don't Overcompensate for not being the natural mom.  You can't compete with his mom and you don't need to.  If you try to be the 'fun mom' you will end up with the spoiled child and you will eventually lose the battle when you try to draw the lines.

Enjoy Your Mother's Day!  It's not one day that you are celebrating.  It is EVERY day that you get to be part of molding and shaping a small child into a wonderful adult.  Find something EVERY day that makes you happy you made the choice to be a step mom.  If you can do that, every day will be Mother's Day for you, too.

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