“People frequently ask me how my ex, his wife, my husband, and I co-parent so well. My response is usually the same: we adore our daughter. It’s really that straightforward. Nothing will ever change our feelings for her.No child deserves to be tossed around, used as a bargaining tool, or thrown into the middle of an adult drama. She didn’t choose to be born, and she certainly didn’t choose her parents’ divorce.

Why would we make her life more difficult by forcing her to select which pair of parents she loves? My daughter refers to her bonus mother as ‘Mommy,’ and you know what? That’s fine because that’s exactly what she is to her; she IS her mother. She is always there for her, takes care of her, plays with her, teaches her life lessons and how to behave, gives her hugs and kisses goodnight, and does everything any mother would do.

But most importantly, she adores her as if she were her own child. It takes a unique woman to take a child they did not give birth to under their wing and raise them as their own. I hear a lot of women say, ‘I would never allow my child call another woman mom or mommy, because she’s NOT her mom, I AM!’ So, you know what?

If your ex is fortunate enough to have a lady who loves YOUR child or children as if they were their own, and who helps raise and shape them, why would you not allow them to call a woman they adore mommy? Why would you put your child in the position of having to pick between who they love? I would never tell my daughter that she cannot call her extra mommy’mommy’ since it would profoundly harm her.

She is her mommy all the time, not only when she is with her father.Sometimes you just have to set aside the minor details in order to raise your child to be the magnificent human being that they are supposed to be. My daughter isn’t the only one who adores her additional mother; I adore her as well. She’s become one of my closest pals, and I rely on her for a variety of tasks.

She is one of the most courageous people I know, and I am grateful to her every day. Don’t tell me that peaceful co-parenting is impossible; it is.
I’m sure it is. Because I do it all the time. It takes a village to raise a child, and I am so grateful for mine! Are you sure? On the first day of school, our daughter and her two mothers walked her to her classroom. Hayley Booth contributed to this story.