By Holly Sosa
The days are long and equally as hot here in the High Desert. My kids are kept inside most days because of the beating sun. As a blended family, there’s always an adjustment period when all five of our kids are home at the same time. Thankfully, our five are pretty great kids and waste no time in playing together (mostly) harmoniously.
Every summer I have one goal: a stepsiblings photo. I’ve been successful for just one summer. This summer, no heat wave would keep me from my goal. Taking inspiration from the eleventyfive watermelons our children consumed this summer, I bought the biggest, ripest watermelon I could find and sliced it into fifths.
The results were nothing but summer perfection wrapped up into five children and one watermelon. Sticky sweet juice dripped down little cheeks, arms, and legs. The hot summer sun seemed to cool down as they munched on their watermelon treats. Typically I’m a ball-up-the-entire-watermelon type of gal, but I think there’s something to be said for a giant slice of watermelon in the hands of a child.
These five stepsiblings are some of the most resilient kids I know. They’re all living with their own set of unique familial circumstances and all come out the other end happy, well-adjusted people. We’re the epitome of a modern family with half-siblings, stepsiblings, and full siblings. The word blended ain’t got nothin’ on the Sosa-Torrico kids.
Blended families are complicated and hard, yes. We have our own set of circumstances for each of our five children. But I truly wouldn’t have it any other way. Because I’ve been blessed to know and have a hand in raising all five of these precious souls and that makes everything worth it.
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