Before I got married, I got some great advice from the wife of a local college president. She had come to speak at my church, and I approached her after she finished and asked her if she had any advice for someone who was about to get married and inherit two wonderful step-children. Without missing a beat, she told me, "For the first six months, don't even try to be the authority figure. Don't go in and try to lay down the law. If you do, they will never respect you, and they'll never listen to you."
Truer words never were spoken. I found after Sarah and I married that it took at least that long just to understand the rhythm of the household. It took at least that long to really get to know the children, to begin to know my wife (As I soon discovered, the rules for dating and the rules for marriage are completely different. You never really get to know someone until you live with them 24 hours a day) and to begin to know where exactly I fit in the scheme of things. It's a learning process and an adventure, one I look forward to every day.
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