Moms, real and otherwise

I don't have any pictures of my real mom.

And I hate the term "real mom." It implies that my stepmom was not a real mom to me. She was. My dad and my stepmom supplied a far more stable home to me than my real mom was ever able to.

I don't fault my mom for this. She did the best she could with the cards she was dealt, and the cards she was dealt gave her n…