the joys of visitation.

i just vented about my ex for about five paragraphs. probably better to keep that to myself. *smile*

the kids are back after another weekend with their biological father. they call him by his first name. that should tell you something.

the "business trip" he claimed to have to go on during one of his scheduled weekends with our children...ended up producing a ring on his girlfriend's finger. hmm. according to him, he is completely broke and "scraping by" - and yet they just got back from vacationing in california and hawaii? something smells fishy. i suppose that's where our child tax credit ended up...

ah, the joys of life after divorce....

tonight, as usual....they were dropped off late. and we don't even get a call or text. after 30 minutes went by, i texted him....

me: hey, are you going to be here soon?
him: in about 4 hours....
(because he is known for his lies and sarcasm....i can't tell if this is real or if he's trying to mess with me)
me: excuse me? 4 hours?
him: did u sneeze?
(oh brother. this is when i mentally roll my eyeballs and think to myself, "are you kidding me?? grow up, dude.")
me: are you five? LOL Seriously though...what's the story?
him: in a half
(suddenly i hear my children at the front door. i come down, and we let them in. my ex remains in the car with his girlfriend and then they drive off. he always avoids face to face conversations with me. then i get another text message....)
him: aren't they in the house? I can put it in a bedtime story if you like.
(now I'm thinking, "Is this guy on something?? Why is he messing with me and being so weird?")
me: please stick to what the agreement says...kids home by 7pm. If you're going to be late or want to keep them longer, you need to run it by me. Thx!
him: you need to stick to the agreement too...After Jessica is out of school and if there's no school the time still stays....Or is it okay for u to choose and not us?
me: (slightly confused by his wording and meaning...and annoyed because we've had this same conversation a bazillion times.....i give no response.)
him: What's wrong? Did u get up on the wrong side of the bed today?
(at this point, i am sharing the bizarre texts with jim. we are laughing our heads off as we think up all the different responses that could be used here. we finally decide on something random, to show i'm not in a bad mood at ALL, i have a sense of humor, and basically just to put an end to the stupid texting.....)
me: pervert. :o)

seriously....what's he going to say to that? jim and i had a good laugh. i sure love my husband. dealing with my very immature, hits-below-the-belt, sarcastic, self-absorbed ex-spouse only reminds me how very blessed and lucky i am to have such an incredible companion. my husband...so smart, loving and faithful. my best friend....so funny, supportive and kind. wow, i am so grateful i am married to him and not my ex!! THIS is what love is.

so my ex is engaged. i truly hope it will last. i honestly want them to hurry up because this living together thing is such a bad example to our children. it's so hard for us to send them there every other weekend, to a place with completely different values. we worry about what they'll be exposed to, every time they go. all we can do is teach them, lead by example and pray, pray, PRAY!!

it's good to have my children back. this is their HOME, where they belong. they tell us that my ex is trying to get them to call his girlfriend "mom" or that she will be their mom once they are married. that bothers me, because they only have one mommy - and that's me. last time i checked, i was the one that carried them inside me for nine months, gave birth to them and breastfed them. sure, she'll be their stepmom and she seems like a pretty decent person. but i know they aren't comfortable with the thought of calling her anything but her first name. i sure hope they don't try forcing my children to call her something they don't want to call her. that's not okay.

ohhh...the drama-lamma-lamma continues!! this is my life. i certainly never wanted this kind of life, but it is what it is, right?! i'll make the best of it. i will continue to focus on the happiness within the walls of my own home. i have so many blessings, it's easy to block out out the nonsense by reminding myself of all that i do have.

and i have so much.