As a stepmom, I know what it’s like to do great things under the radar. I also know what a rollercoaster stepparenting can be.

To be highly accomplished in many areas of your life, yet feel the deep need to hide or mask the stepmom role you play and minimize the effort you put in is a wild contradiction. But the truth is – we find ourselves in a ping-pong game of momentous joy, confusion, loneliness and overwhelm on a perpetual continuum. The whiplash of highs and lows and the deep ache that comes with being misunderstood is a unique challenge I understand deeply. But that all changed when I learned how to provide emotional safety for myself and my family.