Harmony

For those who remarry, how do you manage 'harmony' within the combined family unit?

Ideally we probably would wish for agreeable children without preconceived ideas a la the Brady Bunch kids, but in reality things may not be that simple.

My personal take: I do not consider myself as anyone's 'replacement'. I am the new guy, but not necessarily 'new management'. Whatever that is status quo will remain, no matter how different they are to my way of doing things.

And a general piece of advice: when push turns to shove (I pray that we never have to be in this situation), NEVER ask your spouse to choose between you and his son/daughter/niece/nephew/sibling/mom. This strategy almost never work out well. It is best to be patient & classy, no matter how much you implode. Find a way to release the anger/frustration/need to smack someone. Mine is through rigorous exercising. 

All the best my dearies!