Hello Friends!
It’s been along time since I updated you all on what has been happening with the Lee Family…
H and I have been doing fairly well.
He is working quite a bit of OT and I am getting rather “clingy.”
I am missing him terribly… I hate him working like this, but we really need the money right now.
I told you about exOW filing a petition to set Holidays… well the Mediator finally contacted us. The Juvenile courthouse was unavailable to use a conference room, so they set it up to meet at a local Shoney’s.
H asked if I could be involved… and the Mediator said that she had been informed that it was to be ONLY the parents.
Well, Saturday came around (this last Saturday) and we went to the Shoney’s. Yes, I went too. When we got there exOW was sitting in the truck, smoking and talking on the phone and the mediator wasn’t there yet. So H, Lil Bit and I went in and took a seat in the waiting area.
ExOW walked in and was rather nice. She spoke to Lil Bit and Lil Bit actually leaned back on me. She stood there for a couple of minutes, and then exOW picked her up and gave Lil Bit her cell phone to play with.
We (she and I) exchanged a little friendly conversation about Lil Bit bending, and breaking, cell phone antennas.
We had been waiting for about 5-10 min when the mediator arrived. When she walked in she looked H and said, “Mr Lee?” H nodded.
She looked at me and said, “ExOW?” I said, “No Ma’am. I am Mrs Lee.”
I am assuming that she thought I was exOW because she was holding the baby. Oh well..
Anyway the mediator said, “Why don’t we all go have a seat.”
I got to go!
We all sat down and ordered colas. Then she whipped out the calendar and she started asking what each one of them expected. She outlined the Holidays then asked for them to each tell what they wanted out of this arrangement and why.
ExOW went first. She basically wanted every holiday. Though, she did offer to split evenly Mother and Father’s days (strange HALF the day each), Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Her reasoning, There are just things I can’t get back… hmmm… True.
(I wonder, did she mean my H??? just curious)
H’s expectations; basically, who ever has her on a Holiday, has her. He did say that he would like Father’s day and his vacation time.
His reasoning, its easier and basically fair… the holidays are basically split down the middle by the calendar anyway.
The solution was basically conducive to both sides. It took an hour and a half to come to an agreement. I had to get up from the table several time with Lil Bit. She was restless and had been playing “pass the baby” from exOW to H to me... and over again… So, in order to allow them some discussion time, I took her for walks around the restaurant.
Our waitress followed me. She stopped me and said that Lil Bit was so beautiful. I thanked her and she asked me if she was my baby.
“Not mine. Their baby.” (Pointing back to the table) “I am just the wife.”
She looked at me and I said, “I am HIS wife… but she is THEIR baby.”
She looked at me and said, “Girlfriend, I am so there! My H is the same way. He has an outside child too. But I can tell, you are the Mommy, Ain’t you?”
I explained as shortly as I could about the parenting schedule and the daycare situation… and that now exOW was whining about holidays.
She shook her head and walked away.
While I was away from the table, I guess exOW showed some of her true colors. She began fussing about the way that H had offered his take on the Holidays… the Mediator said that he was being very cooperative and was not asking for anything that wasn’t reasonable. She told exOW that she could fight what he was asking for, but if it went before the Judge, H would more than likely get what he was asking for specifically because it was reasonable and fair.
Sorry, exOW… but… a big <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="images/icons/tongue.gif" /> to you!
Well, that is basically the latest…
Just wanted to let you all know that we are doing ok…
((HUGZ)) to all!
<small>[ September 16, 2002, 03:34 PM: Message edited by: Stacia_Lee ]</small>
