Step…

That’s right. I am a step…stepdad, that is.

I, along with my (now almost ex-) wife, took a pair of girls, guided them through their pre-teen years,( when they listened to what you had to say before forgetting it),through their teen years, (when you were too dumb to understand), to their adult lives,(when you occasionally have good advice…occasionally). Along the way, the ex and I had one of our own; a son, who learns just like his father did (the hard way, which frustrates his mother to no end.).

Yes, they have grown up, and have blessed me and their mother with grandchildren. Yes, they have moved on with their lives, as have their mother and I.

As a step, I helped them make their way through life, teaching them all I could. Not everything went smooth, as most people can tell you. I have learned to let them go; they are grown and have their own kids to deal with. They have done fairly well, and I am a proud step-dad.

Today is different. Today, I may have lost one of my girls for good.

See, she left today to move closer to her mother and her father. While that is what’s best for her, it may be a long time before I see her again.

My wife and I are almost done with our divorce. All the hard work is done with respect to her upbringing. She wants to re-connect with her father. I will not stand in her way, because he is her father. I didn’t stand in the way when he wanted to see her graduate from high school. I invited him into my home, along with her younger sister. I did it with a smile on my face. Because I was just a step. She never treated me like a step. He did, but I didn’t find out about it until they were gone, and that never made me regret inviting him. Besides, my ex knows how I feel about that. Karma is a bitch.

But, now that my divorce is almost final, I guess that my part in the play is done. Her kids will grow up with their new grandfather, and they will adapt. I know that kids do. Soon, they will call him Grandpa, and I will become the forgotten Grandpa. After all, I am only a step. I don’t count anymore.

Since I am no longer married to their grandmother, I will no longer be Grandpa. If I manage to keep my Grandpa status, I’ll be Grandpa Keatts, if I’m lucky. That’s what I was to the youngest daughter and granddaughter. After all, I’m only a step. To them (they lived with her father, so I’ve only seen them a few times), I don’t really count, at least not now. I’m no longer with their mother (and grandmother).

So, with infinite sadness, I pass the torch of grandpa-hood to my contemporary. I do it with extreme heartache, for I want him to know how much I hate doing it, and how envious of him I am. But I also know that my time is almost done.

So I do it, with deep regret. It is the way of things in life. After all, he is her father; I’m only a step. Once the divorce is done, I’ll only be a memory.