My mom Judy

With my stepfather, Ron

My mom and I have always been close and have rarely fought—except briefly during those pesky teen years when I would have fought with Mother Teresa. We share a deep love of animals, reading, plants and playing cards (and recently, dominoes). We can talk for hours or sit in silence. I know that whatever I choose to do, she will support and encourage me 100%. When I think of her, I think of deep love and acceptance. I don’t think a person can ask more of a parent than that.

My stepmother Shyla

At play in Jackson, WY (that's me in the background)

When my decidedly not-wicked stepmother married my father many years ago, she said she’d always wanted a daughter. She has always treated me as exactly that: her own daughter. We’ve shopped together, worked out together, played games and cards, and talked for hours.  She's always ready to have fun, whether it's riding a roller coaster or hitting the golf course.  I will be forever grateful that she accepted me immediately, loved me, and became part of my dad’s life and my own.

My mother-in-law Carol

On the Great Wall of China

My husband’s mom has become a surrogate mother to me, since both my mom and my stepmom are in California and I’m in Florida. She has also been loving and accepting from the first day I met her. So many women I know don’t have that kind of relationship with their mothers-in-law. I have a son of my own now, and I see how a mother might have mixed emotions, to say the least, about a girl her son fell in love with. Three years ago this summer, we put our relationship to the test by traveling through Greece together on a tour, sharing hotel rooms and a tiny ship’s cabin while we cruised the Aegean. As far as I’m concerned, we had a completely successful trip—with no cross words between us the entire time.