July 13, 2004
Two new links in the "Other Blogs" side bar. First is the Diary of a Single Dad. Very honest and updated MUCH more frequently than this site. Thanks for sending the link Bob. Next is the Divorce & Child Custody blog. LOTS of regular news and a much needed dose of common sense. Thanks to Meg for this one.
May 23, 2004
Trying to arrange for Sunshine to visit her Grandparents for a week this summer. No response from the ex. Would be nice to plan ahead so my parents can schedule vacation time. We'll see what happens.
May 16, 2004
Got to check out the ex's new sports car when I brought Sunshine to her tonight. Since she moved out of state, I get the privilege of delivering Sunshine to her at work on Sunday nights. Very handy for the ex, no extra driving. Wouldn't want to have her inconvenienced with my attempts to stay in my daughter's life. Oh yeah, very nice car. Wish I could afford to get the A/C fixed in mine.
April 20, 2004
The ex has been on a big push about "her" check this month. I mail it to the court so she can't claim it never got there. Turns out the court mails it to the state, then the state cuts her a check. Probably helps the state get that all important federal funding for hunting down "Dead Beat Dads". Anyway, the ex wants me to send it directly to the state so she can get it faster. Wondered what the rush was until I found out that her and her girlfriend went to Las Vegas for the weekend. The icing on the cake is how their travel schedule cut in to my visitation!
March 22, 2004
Started a new job today. Lower pay, but a LOT less stress. Longer commute too.
February 22, 2004
I just stumbled across a very interesting site while reading the DLJ. Actually, It was an article by Lloyd Conway that contained the new link. You know how it goes, one thing leads to another... Anyway, I'd like to add a permanent link, but I'm not sure where to put it. Its too serious for Diversions, and it seems a little weird to put a link to ifeminists in the Dad Links section. Time for a new category? Any ideas? Send me an e-mail. Regardless, the ifeminists site is very interesting. Definitely check out the FAQ page. It contains my catch phrase of the week. "Equality means neither privilege nor oppression."
January 25, 2004
Its funny how you hear horror stories from other people’s situations, and it never crosses your mind that it could happen to you. Two weeks ago I called the ex to make arrangements for my weekend with Sunshine. The ex told me that Sunshine had been behaving very well for the previous week. “Ever since I told her that she’d have to go to her Dad’s if she didn’t straighten up.”
Wow! First, why would you resort to that sort of psychological intimidation with a 9 year old? Second, when did it become a punishment to live with the other parent? And finally, why the heck would you tell me?!
Needless to say, I had a talk with Sunshine that weekend. I try not to contradict her Mother, but I wanted to make a few things clear. I told her that she already has a home here, and I would always be happy to have her here. I also said that while I would not want to take her from her Mother, I do wish we had more time together. That’s when Sunshine told me her Mom said that if she lived with me, she’d always be in school or daycare because of my job. Also, she’d only get to see her Mom on birthdays and holidays, at most, a couple of times a year. Funny thing about the job comment. The ex works nights, so Sunshine spends most of her time out of school with the ex’s girlfriend. Anyway, I said that while her Mother may say things when she’s upset, we all know that she would never be able to survive with only seeing Sunshine a couple of times a year. I really tried to make Sunshine see that while this isn’t an ideal situation, she will always have two parents that love her very much.
January 19, 2004
Couple of new links on the sidebars. A few cool tools in the Diversions area, and a really awesome blog that gets updated a whole lot more regularly than this one!
January 7, 2004
Here’s one that has my GF pretty steamed. I got a call from the ex’s gf asking if I was going to get any vacation time this summer. Turns out the ex and her gf are planning on taking a cruise and wanted to nail down the dates that Sunshine would be staying with me.
My GF wants to know why we can’t have that kind of vacation. “Because we don’t have a second income from ‘child support’ and a built in babysitter, that’s why." Last year they went to Key West and the year before was Mexico. Oh the agony of single parenting. Shoot, I haven’t ever had that kind of vacation. I’m happy if we all get time off together for three days in a row and can afford the gas to go visit relatives. Oh well, at least I’m fairly certain I’ll get at least one week with Sunshine this summer. I’m supposed to get six weeks, but that hasn’t happened yet.
