😩 Back-to-school dread

The stress of back-to-school season for stepfamilies is so *beyond.*

In the summer, conflict between our house and HCBM’s house was irritating but mostly manageable. We could largely ignore HCBM’s passive-aggressive comments and double standards while we put our attention elsewhere — like into planning our next camping trip somewhere out of cell phone range. Conflict still flared up but tended to die off quickly, leaving us mostly unscathed.

The school year was a different story.

What might be classified as occasional but severe thunderstorms in the summer became, around mid-August, a full-blown hurricane hurtling down tornado alley, destroying all in its path.