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Other blended families can take a page from this family of five’s co-parenting book.
Katie Musser (24), from Pennsylvania in the US, met her now husband, Jeremy Wade, and his four-year-old son, Landon, back in 2013 when Landon was just a few weeks old. In a touching Facebook post, Katie explains that she and Landon’s mom, Casey, had quite a rocky relationship at first and would bicker constantly.
“Landon’s mom [Casey] and I hated each other,” Katie writes. “So many stories, rumours, and judgements, but what would you expect? That’s all we ever saw.”
But the 24-year-old decided that she’d had enough of the conflict and reached out to Casey to try and find a solution to their issues. “One day, I woke up and thought, ‘I truly hate who I’ve become,’ ” she says.
“So, right before Landon’s first birthday, I reached out to Casey.
“Eventually we started having ‘mommy dates’ and talked about everything from ourselves, Landon, and even old relationships,” says Katie.
The pair grew so close that Katie decided to include Casey and Landon in her wedding on 23 September, explaining she wanted them to be a part of their special day. “I couldn’t thank them enough for everything,” Katie adds.
Katie shared a touching video of her co-parenting vows on the Facebook Page Love What Matters and revealed that no one had a clue beforehand what she was about to do.
In the middle of the wedding ceremony, before reading her vows to her soon-to-be husband, an emotional Katie asked Casey and husband, Tyler, to stand up so that she could address them.
“First I want to thank you for accepting me as your friend,” Katie says. “I promise to be an amazing mother to your son.”
“I promise to respect, work, and listen and communicate together as co-parents.”
The teary-eyed bride then calls her stepson to the stage and kneels down to recite her vows to him. “Landon, I love you more than you’ll ever know,” she says. “I’m so happy that I get to officially be your bonus mom.”
The heart-warming video brought Facebook users to tears, receiving more than 625 000 views on the social-media platform.
“This is a perfect example of loving a child unselfishly. I hope more parents see this as proof that it’s possible to co-parent without the drama and name calling,” reads one of the Facebook comments.
“This is what it’s supposed to be like. You marry a man or a woman with kids, they and their other parent become your family as well,” another says.
Sources: huffingtonpost.com, people.com, abcnews.go.com
