Book Blurb:
Ida Deloraine intends to build herself a new life and a new career in catering, after a painful divorce. When the much younger Ethan Holt moves in across the street, an innocent flirtation quickly becomes serious when the two realise their age difference is no barrier to all-consuming passion.But Ethan is the exact opposite of what Ida is looking for in a sexual partner. He is young and vibrant, with his life and his dreams still ahead of him, whereas hers are all in the past. Can Ethan, who is fighting his own demons in the form of a car accident, failed marriage and forced career change, convince Ida to overcome the past and live for the moment?And just who is educating who in this cougar encounter?
Guest Post by Jennifer Lynne
Welcome, Jennifer.
Thank you Kat for having me here at Forever Book Lover as today's guest author.
Maintaining the romance in a blended family
I'm in that exact situation myself. My partner of seven years and I finally decided to move in together just over a year ago, and we subsequently sold our individual homes and bought a place together, with my two teenage children and his young adult son, and as an occasional visitor, his daughter. (And my cat, of course!).
Easy, we thought. Settle down now into a life of bliss, where each of us no longer has to live alone as a single parent and make all those decisions without support from a loving partner.
Hmm. Not quite that easy. The main issues I've found in being part of a blended family are in relation to the children – setting limits and boundaries (particularly for teenagers), discipline, and expectations of behavior. The biggest piece of advice I would give anyone considering blending families is not to directly discipline the other person's child/children. If you have an issue with behavior then speak with the child's parent, privately, and ask that they discipline their own child, keeping to the rules and expectations that you both set up before moving in together. And do set some ground rules, beforehand, so that you know what each other's expectations are.
Most of all, though, the challenge in blending families is to build in time for yourselves as a couple. It can be really hard in the midst of day-to-day family living to maintain the romance of what is, after all, a successful enough relationship that you wanted to live together in the first place!
Going to the movies is one thing we enjoy as a couple. Luckily my partner loves cooking, so we enjoy spending time in the kitchen devising gourmet meals that we test (usually epic fails) on the kids. Even going for a walk together in the evening – especially in summer when it gets dark a lot later – can be quite pleasant, too. And it doubles as exercise – great for time management!
About the Author:
Find Jennifer on the web at:
If you'd like to follow my tour, next stop will be Reading Romances on Mar 16th, where I'll be discussing the so-called "cougar" phenomenon.
Ok, reader, let's hear from you. The more you comment at the other blog stops, the better your chances of winning.
12 comments
Your story sounds fun. I married someone younger than myself. It worked.
I agree! I love the idea that two adults have the freedom to choose who to love, regardless of their age. Thanks so much for stopping by :)
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Hi Marybelle, lovely to see you here. And yes, there are definite pitfalls in a blended family relationship that take some getting used to. But so worth it!
Hi Catherine, thanks for commenting! Yes, I think the key is to make time for each part of the family - for you both as a couple, overall as a family, and for each parent to have time with their own children as well. Easier said than done in these busy times, I can tell you!
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Once again, thank you everyone!
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