I love my stepchildren.

I've always been ambivalent when it comes to children. I never thought I'd have any of my own. I can't stand screaming, I can't stand babies' crying. I can't stand the thought of not having a full night's sleep for at least a year. I'm not keen on the idea of cutting my hair and selling my car. I wouldn't mind the lack of money or the change in lifestyle but I don't want to deal with the screaming, the poop accidents, and the baby-talk.<br><br>But 18 months ago, I met this guy. He had two kids from another relationship. He told me right from the beginning that, yes, he wanted kids, and yes, he already had two. He even told me that I was the first woman he'd dated without kids since his divorce, and he told me that I was the only woman he'd dated in the last three years. He also told me that he wasn't in a hurry to date anyone again at the time.<br><br>We talked for a while. I told him that I wasn't sure I was ready to be a father figure, and that was the first thing he'd said: "I don't want you to be a father figure. I want you to be my boyfriend. The father of my kids is their father, not you."<br><br>I decided to give it a chance. I already liked him, I already loved his conversations, and I was willing to give it a chance. So I met the kids. Twice. We talked. We played. We had a lot of fun. They didn't seem to be too traumatised by their parents' divorce, and they didn't seem to care that their father was no longer married. They were the happiest kids I'd ever met.<br><br>For the next eight months I met them every week. We had dinner. We played games. We went out on weekends. They made painting cards for me. They wrote love letters to me. They asked me to read them stories. They sat on my lap and hugged me, and I hugged them.<br><br>It was the best time of my life.<br><br>I thought I'd never love kids, but I loved them. I would have loved to adopt them. I would have loved to be their mother figure, their bonus mother, if they wanted to. They were always so polite. Always so well-behaved. Always so happy.<br><br>Right now my boyfriend, my stepchildren, our dog, and I are on holidays. We're staying in a beach house in a small town, and we're having the best time. We're going to the beach every day. We're having icecreams and walking around the city and going to the aquarium. We're playing board games, watching movies, playing with the dog... and I love it. I've never been this happy.<br><br>I love them. I love all four of them. The father, the sons, the dog. I love them. I love how they make me feel. I love how they behave. I love their laughter and their smiles. I love them. I would give them my life. I would give them my money. I would do anything to make them happy.<br><br>I guess that, after all, I can be a mother figure. I just needed to meet the right kids.