She's 13, turning 14 on Feb 28th. She's actually my stepdaughter. The funny thing is, she was a complete daddy's girl until a few years ago. The first thing she said to me when my wife and I started dating when she was three was "My daddy's gonna beat you up!" Everything was about daddy. Her younger sister who just turned 11 never was close to her dad. She grew up since she was a year old with me. The young one stopped going to her dad's when she was eight. Now the oldest hasn't seen her dad since he alienated her almost a year ago. She calls him James now or her "ex-dad." This is not through my wife or I badmouthing him or any such thing. He's a giant douche-turd and ruined his relationship with his kids. I love them both dearly and am quite proud to be their "Daddy Steve."
That's both a sad and a sweet story
I'm glad your actual family is holding strong, though! That's the most important part
I strongly believe that blood means nothing to decide if you're a family or not. My dad is actually my step-father too. My biological father died when I was just born, and my "current" father has been my dad since I was 2. I wouldn't trade him for the world
According to my mother, he fell in love with me before he did with her, haha
I always have to consciously remind myself that we don't share any DNA when the doctor asks me for family health issues. He's my father and nobody can change anything about that!