My Parents Have A 2% Chance?

It won't be long until we're hearing "School's Out for Summer!" With that familiar cry, the blended family often cringes with anticipation of spending even more time together in a household often rift with daily challenges.

Speaking of spending more time together, my step-father recently took a test in his Psychology class with the results that my Mother and his marriage has about a 2% chance of survival. Many factors were taken into account such as: How many times married, age, age of children from previous and present marriage, how many live with you, occupations, and how much time spent together.

My step-father is retired and going to school a couple of days a week. My mother is going to school, also, so they spend all other time not spent in school together. They have no biological children in common, but they each have children from previous marriage -- two marriages in his case. They have two children living with them in their household at the present time, both of them my Mother's.

The prediction was grim, and it didn't make my Mom too happy. They have lived apart for over 40 years, and have only been married for about a year and a half, so they haven't fully adjusted to each other yet. As two individuals they seem to have come to terms with with their relationship between each other but still can't agree on many issues dealing with the children.

As I wrote previously, we have all been to counseling and are still going, although sporadically, due to my brother's academic and sports' involvement. My step-father thinks it is a priority to go to the counseling sessions, which run only concurrent with school and sports practice, but my brother and my mother believe that missing any practices or school would cause great emotional damage to my brother, mainly in his sports' participation. If they miss one practice, they don't play the next game. If they miss two, they are benched for a week or two, and the third one, they are off the team. If you miss school, you miss practice. So you see their dilemma.

I've listened in on a few of my step-parents' "discussions". I really believe that they are in the same boat as many retired people find themselves, after years of marriage, suddenly spending almost 24 hours a day in each other's presence. They start to get on each others' nerves while at the same time they become increasing dependent on each other.

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