Continued from: Reinterpreting the Order Again
I decide to break no/low-contact in order to make sure she’s clear my position on the order, though I did tell her on the phone before hanging up in her ear as she started to go off. Due to a number of emails and text messages since then, I send the following this morning:
(12/31/07, 11:28AM)
PEW,
In response to your latest barrage of emails, voice mails, and text messages threatening me with more litigation, I will offer you the following information regarding your latest misinterpretation of the court order.
New Year’s Holiday is defined as December 31st through January 1st. Father has odd years. Mother has even years. As the “holiday” as defined begins in 2007, this is my year. The language of our orders haven’t changed since the first one. Further, our history confirms my recollection of the order and not your latest revision. You had New Years Holiday in 2004 (three years ago) and 2006 (last year) under this same language. I had New Years Holiday in 2005 (two years ago). This is now 2007 and is my year. Historically, whoever had Christmas, the other had New Years. The only reason it’s different this year is because prior to you being found in contempt of court, this would have been your next scheduled Christmas (followed by my next scheduled New Years).
I believe that this explanation is exceedingly clear and you will refute it. Just be assured that as I had informed you over the phone, the children will not be coming home today despite your orders for me to do so. Please stop with the incessant harassment. Stop with the unnecessary and unsupportable litigation.
~LW
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After sending this, she calls to wish the boys Happy New Year. After chatting with the boys, I overhear S6 run into his bedroom and say to S9, “Mom said that dad is holding us here when it’s supposed to be her time with us! She said we are supposed to be with her and not with dad!”
Engaging the children in such issues is another violation of the court order and another in a long line of efforts to alienate the children against me. I walk out of the bathroom and into their room and the following discussion takes place:
Remaining calm, I simply explained to them, with their assistance (they know the week-on week-off schedule) what the situation is.
Me: My week was the week before Christmas, correct?
Them: Yes.
Me: Normally, Christmas week would have been mom’s this year, but trust me when I tell you that a special circumstance came up and I was supposed to have you for Christmas this year. Okay?
Them: Okay.
Me: That means, where are you supposed to be this week?
Them: With you.
Me: Please believe me when I tell you that I would not keep you from being with your mother. You are with me because that is our schedule and mom isn’t supposed to be telling you any differently. It is not your business to deal with, okay?
Them: Okay. Sorry.
Me: There is no need to apologize, I just want to make sure you know the truth.
I really don’t like having such conversations with the children. I’d really like for them to just be little kids and not be burdened with such bullshit, but alas, their mother – being the selfish, psycho that she is, will not hesitate to cross any boundary in order to create havoc. She doesn’t care about these children or the impact her behavior has on them.
Soon thereafter, I get 2 calls from her on the house phone. Ignored, no voice mails. 2 calls on the cellphone. Ignored, 1 voice mail. So far, two emails.
(12/31/2007, 1:36PM Voice Mail from PEW)
LW, it’s PEW. Those boys are supposed to be coming home. Today. I don’t know why you haven’t left yet. It’s almost 2 o’clock. I don’t know why you haven’t left yet. They want to come home. They don’t even want to be with you anymore. They want to come home and be with me. You had better bring them home today!
Followed by email at 2:05PM:
Listen LM,
You’re wrong, it says this is my year and even if it wasn’t what kind of father would keep the children when they don’t want to be there for three weeks. They both just told me they want to COME HOME, but they said if they say that to you they’ll get in trouble. What the hell is that?? I’m not going to litigate because I ENJOY it, quite the contrary….I hate it which is why I didn’t dispute your latest shenanigans with “moving” back to the area….which is NOT what you did. You lied to JS. You don’t live up here. This situation isn’t working out and you know it….the kids are NOW suffering emotionally because they have a total psycho for a father and I am helpless to protect them. AND to top it all of, you’re now holding them hostage at your [home state] when they want to be with me. They hate it there when D9 and S8 aren’t there. Not to mention the fact that they each got like 3 gifts and DW’s kids “got a whole bunch”. You disgust me. I’m giving the 50/50 thing six months (the end of April) to work for the boys and then I’m filing for another hearing. So far I have [neighbor] telling me that the first day you had them, you left them at the bus alone and drove away……I have the teacher telling me that you refuse to give S9 a snack and a decent lunch….I have [another apparent spy at Cub Scouts] telling me that you single S9 out at cub scouts and do not allow him to participate in the snack there…..I have countless emails from the teachers about the children’s behavior when they are with you…..I have S9 telling me about your “table topics” game where you ask the question “if something happened to your mother and she couldn’t take care of you, who would you want to live with?” what kind of sick game is that??? I have your total inability to communicate on any level…..then there’s the fact that you don’t LIVE up here…you DON’T EVEN WORK UP HERE all the time…..YOU are the reason 50/50 isn’t going to work. And I will prepare the judge for that on January 24th when I go in to discuss this bullshit with her. You’re a sick person, even if I am wrong what kind of father would keep children when they clearly miss their mother. I’m going to litigate more because it’s the ONLY THING I CAN DO. I hate spending my time this way, but when I hear my kids voices and they’re wispering that they miss me and want to come home because their SICK father will get mad if he hears them…….it infuriates me. Some day JS is going to see what I see….and what the REST of the world sees in you…..you’re a sick sick person…..EVERYONE knows that you don’t care about what’s best for those boys. I hope your holiday is ruined just like you ruined mine and the kids. Get help.
~PEW
My commentary: My, my, my – the rage is now out of control. Points worth addressing:
– My children just told me this morning, after being told we’re heading back to [work state] tomorrow that they didn’t want to go back and they were just having too much fun here. Of course, they also have to go back to school, which I’m sure is a bummer to all kids who’ve had off for 10-days. That’s not to say that they don’t miss their mom. A divorce arrangement sucks all the way around, but when you have a raging maniac for a mother, you will say what will appease her and they know if they tell her that they’re having a blast with me, she’ll get upset. That’s because she does get upset.
– I did “move back up there.” I have residences in both places. I work in mom’s home state. It was an absolute miracle that I obtained this position and took it for two reasons: 1) I needed a job. 2) TO BE WITH MY CHILDREN!!! During my weeks where I don’t have custody of the children, I can work from the home office and make a point of scheduling any travel I may have for those weeks where I don’t have custody. Further, if business circumstances require it, I’m even up at our apartment in the work state because I have to be. Reality, PEW… catch it!
– Christmas presents: DW’s children had more because their father brought over all of their stuff along with their grandmother. Of course, PEW has always been about everybody being “even” – even when circumstances just don’t call for it or allow it.
– On the first day I had the boys during the 50/50 arrangement, I took them to the bus stop which is at the corner of her street and her neighborhood spies. While awaiting the bus, I notice I’m parked on the wrong side of the street and right under the sign which reads – “No parking, this side of street.” As their buddies are assembling at the bus stop, they get antsy and want to get out. I let them, telling them, “I’m parked illegally, so I’m going to drive around the block and park on the proper side of the street.” They bolt to the corner and I start to roll around the block when… the bus arrives! While at the stop sign, everyone boards and I roll to work. I wasn’t at work 30-minutes when the raging phone voice mail comes. One of the neighborhood spies called her in work and reported that I just dumped them at the bus stop and abandoned them.
– When the boys aren’t packed a nice lunch, they are given money for a school lunch. I got one email from S9’s teacher saying that they get to lunch late and asked me if I could pack a morning snack for S9, which I have done every single day since. Boy, can PEW embellish and twist reality into abuse or what?
– One day, S9 was punished (loss of snack) for misbehavior in school. The day in question happened to be a Cub Scout meeting where all the kids get a snack at the end of the meeting. S9 was not allowed to have a snack because it was his punishment and I couldn’t allow Cub Scouts snack time to undermine my disciplinary decision. It was one instance in dozens of meetings since September. Of course, PEW doesn’t believe in discipline of any kind… so I could see where she might be upset.
– Table Topics is a fun game where we all ask questions of each other. Pretty much no topic is off-limits (within reason). They even sell “table topics cards” which was one of the gifts from Santa this year. The question she bastardizes is this: If you could live at anyone’s home except your parents for one year – whose home would you choose? S9 chose his best friend’s house. S6 chose his grandmother’s house (my mother). D9 and S8 chose their grandmother’s house. I’m not entirely sure how PEW twisted into what she described above. The question was “for a year” – I’m not sure any of us could die for only a year.
Welcome to my nightmare.
Followed by email at 2:07PM:
LM,
I like how you always portray yourself like such a “victim” too….I’m always threatening you right? or harassing you? grow up and be a man!!
~PEW
Followed by voice mail at 2:26PM:
LM,
I just responded to your email and I also wanted to let you know that now thanks to you your father and stepmom won’t get to see the kids because I was supposed to take them down there on the 11th which is obviously not going to happen if they don’t get their Christmas presents until the 6th. So, I hope you’re happy. You ruined everything for everybody as usual because that’s what makes you happy. See you on the 24th!
Followed by email at 2:37PM:
LM,
By the way…..ALL of the stuff that was on their Christmas lists is here. The jerseys, the Webkins cow, the wrestlers, the lego people, Nintendo DS, …..because I can afford it??? no, I can’t afford it….but I know their only little once and they only believe in Santa for a few years and you RUINED it. Get to a psychiatrist LM, you need help badly…..you need medication or something.
~PEW
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My commentary: Hey, I was out of a job for 9-months and we have a lot of recovering to do from that. My kids had an excellent Christmas and got some of the things on their rather lengthy list, which, in it’s entirety, would have cost close to $2,000 each. I know she can’t afford it, but she’s never been one to let that stand in her way. I think it’s wonderful that she can (and always has) catered to the boys’ every whim. It’s why they appreciate things so little. It’s why they expect a toy every time the wind blows. It’s why everything that isn’t perfectly balanced for them “is just not fair!” It is just another issue which we have to manage as a result of PEW buying the children’s loyalty instead of teaching them how to grow up to be well-adjusted young boys who appreciate the things that they have, the people who love them, how to keep and maintain friendships, how to handle adverse situations appropriately, how to understand discipline and have self-discipline… and the list goes on. The very basic things that help to establish a well-rounded youth she is completely incapable of providing and/or teaching.
All I ever want is a peaceful, fun, joyous holiday with some semblance of normalcy. I seriously can’t remember one in the last handful of years dating back to when we were still married. She sets out to destroy them – it’s part of the illness. She makes everyone suffer for her issues. There is nothing anyone can do about it.
Despite all of this harassment – we are having a dynamite holiday season – it’s just that for us, we have to plan for such antics and it sucks.
Happy New Year.