I Skipped A Week. The World Kept Turning.

I was supposed to write about mediation last week. I was supposed to write about being stuck between a boy and a man this week. Instead, life kind of threw everything it had at me in the last two weeks and I’m just now coming out the other side bruised but not dead yet!

Just as get you up to date…

We went to mediation with a pretty clear idea of what is going to happen and who was getting what. Within the first ten minutes – after the mention of her having to pay child support – everything was off the table. Without going into too much detail she wasn’t (and isn’t) happy that she’ll have to pay anything. I can’t blame her I suppose. I’ll have the kids for all but 5 hours a week. That said, they are OUR kids and she has a responsibility to pay for them.

Then the lady/roommate got hit by an overzealous teenager. The van took a good crunch in the front driver’s side fender and will need a new bumper, but no one was hurt. It wasn’t until after this happened that she all of a sudden needed to switch cars so she could trade in the SUV instead of the van. This also coincided with the realization that she didn’t have insurance on the van and thus no way to pay for the damage to be fixed. After a LOT of back and forth I agreed to swap out the cars so long as she got the damage fixed. She agreed and now I finally have the car I wanted in the first place – a van that will actually fit all of the kids at once!

This Sunday is the move out day. That’s right – more than 4 months after asking for the divorce she will finally be out of the house! I can’t wait for many reasons, not the least of which is my sanity. I’m most concerned with how confused the kids have become. They keep asking when mommy is moving and have all but stopped asking if or when she’ll be back to the house at night. They know she has a boyfriend and they know she won’t be seeing them much at all. But just her being there is enough to muddy the concept of divorce in their minds. I tell them divorce is when mommies and daddies don’t live together anymore, all the while she’s living in the room right above where I’m telling them this. Once she’s gone I think we will all breathe a sigh of relief – including her.

I made the mistake of doing math the other day. I figured out what I’ve spent in the last 8 weeks (as long as I’ve been keeping track) compared to what she’s given. My portion was $1,300 and her contribution was $120. Keep in mind that my $1,300 was only food, clothing and activities – I’m not including mortgage and utilities. If we figure all that into it, we’re closer to the $5,000 mark. This is something that will have be included in the paperwork we file. That $120 is all she’s given in more than 12 weeks. That’s just not acceptable.

I think that about brings you all up to date. I apologize for missing last week and being late this week. Who knew divorce would be so difficult!?