The Juggling Stepmother

The Juggling Stepmother

For this year’s Chanukah Contest, I asked readers to nominate mothers who are their personal candle in the darkness, the most inspirational JewishMOM they know. Here is the 6th anonymous semifinalist, submitted by Sharona Kotzen of Jerusalem, Israel:

I would like to tell you about a Jewish MOM who inspires me, just by being herself.

Whenever I see her she is calm, soft spoken, smiling, and understanding.

But what really inspires me is how she handles all the relationships in her life, and they are many faceted.

She recently married for a second time, to a widower who has children at home.

She brought light into the lives of people who were struck with the tragedy of losing their mother and wife.

She works hard on the relationship with her new husband,

With his children, who have become her children too,

With his married children,

With her own single son,

With her own married children,

And with her mother.

It is a daily juggle. Whom to give attention to. Whom to invite for Shabbos. Whose needs take priority.

And she handles it all beautifully, with her calm, understanding manner.

I don’t kid myself in thinking that everything is always smooth. I know there are rough spots.

That doesn’t take away from who she is.

As our children grow older, our relationship with them changes. At this stage in my life, the challenge is not the morning routine of getting kids out to school. The challenge is treating my children as independent, thinking people, who need the love and support of their Mom. The challenge is to remember that my husband is the most important person in my life.

The JewishMOM I described to you inspires me in this way.

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