When it comes to raising kids, being a step-parent is arguably one of the most difficult tasks out there. But while we may often hear tales of rough relationships between step-parents and step-children, there are also many truly heartwarming stories of things going so well that they make us believe that nothing is impossible.

Here’s one such story. A guy got a letter from his step-mother for his 18th birthday that she wrote 12 years ago when she married his dad. While he definitely already loved his step-mom as it was, reading it made him tear up with the happiest of tears, which soon got contagious when he decided to share it online. Scroll down to read all about it!

More info: Reddit

There are many stories of poor relationships between step-parents and step-children, which makes these happy stories all the more heartwarming

Image credits: Liliana Drew / Pexels (not the actual photo)

A guy got a wonderful step-mother when he was 3 years old, and she always loved and treated him as if he was her own biological son

Image credits: Castorly Stock / Pexels (not the actual photo)

On his 18th birthday, he got a letter from his step-mom, which she had written 12 years ago when she married his dad, making all kinds of beautiful promises to the kid

Image credits: Keira Burton / Pexel (not the actual photo)

Upon reading it, the guy teared up and couldn’t put the letter away, wondering how he could ever repay her for being as wonderful as she was

Image credits: ThrowRAdeimater25

Encouraged by a commenter, the guy decided to go and tell his step-mom how he felt, which resulted in a lot of hugging and more happy tears

The OP’s biological mom sadly passed away while giving birth to him, and his dad found a new love roughly 3 years later.

The author’s dad and his girlfriend got married when OP was 6. In a few more years, she legally adopted him and became his step-mother, and as time went by, she became a mother to 4 more kids, who the OP was proud to call his siblings.

But despite her not being his biological mom, the guy never saw a reason to add ‘step’ to the woman he knew as his mom. As the OP shared, she always treated him like her own son, and he always felt that.

But even after giving him everything that she could, she still managed to surprise the OP on his 18th birthday by leaving him an envelope with a letter that she wrote 12 years ago when she and his dad got married.

When the OP found it and opened it, he quickly teared up and was unable to put it down, reading it over and over again and wondering how he could ever repay her.

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In the letter, the woman wholesomely talked about how she would never try to replace the boy’s biological mother but would give her all to be the best mother figure that she could be to him. She promised that she would always kiss the boy before he left for school, encourage his interests, attend all his practices, shows, or games whenever she could, and many other beautiful things.

As she intended to give the OP this letter when he turned 18, she ended it by saying that he’s now a full-grown adult who doesn’t have any real obligation to maintain any kind of relationship with her. And yet, she hoped that by this time, she had managed to keep her promises and the boy would want to keep her in his life as much as she wanted to keep him in hers.

The commenters were almost as emotional about this story as the author himself. They encouraged him to go and tell his mom all about his feelings, eventually pushing him in the right direction. When he finally mustered up the courage to do it, he made an update about how they both talked, hugged, and cried together, making it the most wholesome ending to this heartfelt story.

Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels (not the actual image)

It’s a widely known fact that step-parenting can often be a very challenging task. You don’t need to look far for proof, as the media and the internet are full of negative stories about various conflicts between step-parents and step-children, with each story sounding worse than the previous one.

To get a better picture, just take a look at this Reddit post, where a person online asked whether playing this role in life is really as bad as people make it sound on the step-parenting subreddit, only to receive many answers confirming it. Many of the commenters expressed that even though they love their partner and are fine with their children, if they had to choose again, they would make sure they didn’t go down the same path.

But then again, people who are happy with where they are seem to be quite a bit less likely to share their experiences in such places online, which can create a bit of a distorted picture. After all, they’re out there enjoying their lives. They don’t need to find someone to hear out their sorrows or help them find a way out of a difficult situation.

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Image credits: Vitaly Gariev / Pixabay (not the actual photo)

Luckily, some of these people make time to share their success stories, which is really great, as this helps to put the whole matter into a different perspective. To give an example, it’s worth taking a look at what the author of the Unsipped blog had to say about the joys of step-parenting.

The woman shared how much she treasures having her step-children, explaining that the main reason why she had such a good experience is that she approached the whole thing as something like being their really close aunt rather than trying to become their mother, leaving all the stressful choices and discipline to her husband and the kids’ biological mom.

At the same time, she never tried to put any of their bio parents down. She would always listen to the kids’ problems whenever they were upset with their parents but wouldn’t jump in bashing or defending them, as children don’t want additional parenting from their step-parent when they’re already getting it from a couple of other people.

And lastly, she was always open to learning, especially when it came to things that her step-children were good at and passionate about. She never dismissed their knowledge or abilities, and she never tried to tell them that she knew better. Instead, she looked at it as an opportunity to learn and do that stuff together with them, which, in turn, created a much tighter bond.

So, in the end, step-parent success stories may be a little more difficult to come by, but they’re by no means impossible to find. The OP’s story, as well as some other accounts online, prove that there are some incredible step-parents out there who understand the situation and are able to make the most of it for their partners and their children alike. Hopefully, as time passes, more and more people in this kind of situation will find a way to do it as well.

What did you think about this story? Do you have any step-children or step-parents? What was your experience? Share it all in the comments below!

The commenters got quite emotional and were very happy for the author while also giving him the advice he wanted

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