My People

My People
My matched set of grandchildren - Oliver and Cosette

Monday, November 7, 2016

Catching Up... My Stressful Weekend

I'm not intentionally NOT blogging. Life just keeps happening. I am giving little (probably not little enough) updates on Snapchat about my day but... for me to say everything on my mind in ten seconds or less? NOT. Happening!

So let's review, shall we?

Friday: I got an early text (around 6am) from Tasha wanting help with Cosy. Tasha hadn't slept and wanted a break. Austin had a 30 minute "try-out" with the grocery store where he's hoping to get hired so he and Pop went by and picked up Cosy on their way back. We kept her until a little after 12. I spent the rest of the day resting. We had a blast with her but it wore me out. I have been taking care of Austin's daily financial needs (food when we don't have a "family meal", snacks, cigarettes, etc) and it's really adding up. I've also paid for a root canal and filling for him in the past month and have to pay for mediation on the 15th and... other things have happened that have hit my account and I'm watching my little nest egg dwindle and it's making me very nervous. It's all I have in the world. I don't have a car that runs. I live in my parents' house and if I was not able to live here I don't get enough from disability to afford a box under a bridge somewhere. It's very angst inducing for me. So... Austin decided that he would close Cosette's savings account, use the money until he gets a job - he finds out on Wednesday - and then immediately replace it. Obviously, Tasha and her parents were unhappy with his decision as they have contributed to the account. Tasha felt like she should have gotten some of the money if he was going to take it... although, he sees it as a loan from the account and will immediately replace it (trust me, immediately, even if it comes from me). It was a long, ugly discussion between them and started to unravel the fragile peace between them. Tasha asked for child support early - Austin is paid through the 18th. The next payment, since he isn't working, would come 100% from me or not at all. If he gets the job he's trying to get he's going to make less money and... since the custody agreement is not finalized, we will request an amount that meets his financial ability in the final agreement. I was a mom who didn't get child support sometimes and most times I didn't get all the court said I should. I'm committed that as long as I have the money, I will make sure Cosette gets what she needs. It's a sort of unknown quantity at the moment. I mean, I feel bad if Tasha doesn't have what she needs to get diapers, etc. At the same time... I was a single working mom. I had to make it work no matter what my kids' dad did - or many times, didn't do. If it was up to Austin, he wouldn't be able to pay her anything right now. I'm sure our lawyer would say to pay her weekly until the new amount is determined. It's... stressful.

Saturday: Cody and Marquee came up. I wanted Cosy to be there with Oliver as they are just now starting to play together and it is my favorite thing in the world to see the two of them together. I had hoped to get pictures of them in these little matching outfits I had bought. Cody and Marquee refused to let me put it on Oliver because it wasn't his "style". More about that later. Tasha wanted to come with Cosy - she has in the past and it's been ok. But this was the first time she and Austin had been together other than pick ups as he is usually working on Saturdays. Things did not go well. I'm afraid we took a few steps back and my nerves just can't handle it on top of the "mom's illness" and "aunt Linda's illness" and "my own illness" and "my friend has non-hodgkins lymphoma worry" and "will austin get a job before he drains my bank account worry" stresses. It's all just TOO. Much! Playing with the babies was amazing. I posted a lot of pictures on Facebook and I may share a few here but probably not in this blog. It really did hurt my feelings that Cody and Marquee refused to let Oliver wear the outfit I bought. He's 15 months old.  Would wearing a shirt with a little applique animal playing peekaboo destroy any fashion sense he might ever have? Scar him for life? I don't get it. On top of that... Austin got a text from Tasha saying that she had been "lenient" about letting us have Cosy. Well... yes, she has been flexible about the day of the week we get her, based on when Austin was off work at first and then after that, based on when Tasha asked us to get her. I've had Cosy several times for Tasha to rest and I don't mind that. But it's not her being "lenient" to us. It's us working together to help put Cosy in the best environment possible - instead of being with a sleepy mommy, instead of Tasha being tired and burned out - we step in when she asks. I thought it was co-parenting. Apparently it's not. Now Austin doesn't want us to have Cosy any day other than Thursday as was put down in the judges order. *sigh* And honestly... the whole argument is over Tasha wanting to be able to be with our family over the holidays which ... Austin is uncomfortable with. In his mind... she is still the woman who took his daughter from him for two months and made us spend LOTS of money for a lawyer to help get her back in our lives. I'm fine with Tasha being there. Austin isn't. Is it fair to make holidays miserable for Austin? What will happen? We go to mediation next week. Do any of you have past experience with spending holidays together with exes? I'm curious. The few times my kids' dad was around on holidays it was uncomfortable for me. At this point... I'm neutral on him. If he's around, fine. We don't interact... but that's with 16 years of time having passed.

Sunday: Not much sleep Saturday night. I'm either having a flare or coming down with a cold or it could be the nearby forest fires but my nose is running, my eyes are running, I'm coughing and... ugh. I worked on Jamie's costume for about four hours and watched most of the Netflix mini-series, "the Crown" about Queen Elizabeth's reign. Pain level: high. Stress level: lower, mostly because I did what I needed to do to NOT focus on anything stress inducing. Then I had nightmares all night last night and finally gave up sleeping around 4am to make them stop. It was all the same... people coming and taking Cosette from us. The fear is still so real. It's still my deepest, most painful memory and every bit of loving her more makes that fear greater. That's why I'm so determined to have her build bonds with not just me and Austin but all of us, Oliver, Cody and Marquee, Ryan and Sara... my parents. I want her to know on whatever level she understands now, how much she is loved, how precious she is to us all. That she always, ALWAYS can count on us. That she is ONE of US. It's important for me to keep the bond with Tasha so that I can be there for her and help her be the best mother she can be. So she can see what it is in me, in our family, that makes us special/different. So she can understand her own daughter because she comes from us, too. She is part Sauls, Gant, Pennington, Ward, Ray, Jackson, Bullock...

AND NOW it's Monday and the wall-to-wall, every moment coverage of the election has started. Hillary will win. In a different, not so personal blog post, I'm going to share my predictions from 8 years ago so you can see that I know of which I speak... this is not the right direction for us to take. Obamacare is wrong and must be changed, it is hurting the people it was intended to help.

The cat just hit the keyboard and closed my blog. I thought I had lost this whole whiny blog post and maybe it would have been better if I had. Anyways... that's what's happened, at least part of what's happened over the last few days. I have a blog reader who is many years wiser who I confide in and she can tell you... the stuff I don't blog about is always far more bizarre but... I do try to blog *my story* as life occurs to me and I try to leave out the peripheral stuff that others might not enjoy me sharing. If you are praying people, this is a good week to pray. For our nation, for our family, for Austin to get a job THIS WEEK, for us to be able to continue to co-parent Cosette in a loving, cooperative environment, that hearts will be softened and changed wherever God intends. And I will pray that you all have a great week! Love and hugs!

3 comments:

Rose S. said...

Sadly, being on the side of the "mother" she will hands down dictate everything that happens with the baby. Just when you think things are getting non-stressful she will come out with her claws scratching again. I watched my brother go through this. His sons mother wanted to take the child out of state and no matter what , lawyers, courts, a year or so in the system, she still got everything including a whooping sum of child support and she was able to take the child out of state. And sadly , my brother lost everything for a while. Its a rough system. IF you can prove she is unfit you may have a shot.
I try to keep the peace between me and my sons "baby" mama..... its so damn hard. I stress, I buy way to much for the kids. And in the end ALL the time she reminds us all... she is the mama. Drives me nuts!
On the other note... With Cody and his wife not letting the baby wear his outfit. I WOULD be extremely hurt also. Been there , done that. Fashion sense? The baby is what 2 almost? They just don't get it... young parents..... they will one day. Let it ride. I've cut down so much from what I was doing. The first grandchild I BOUGHT EVERYTHING. DIAPERS, wipes, fill the bag, foods, out to eat, cute clothes , toys.....and always got it back in the face somehow. Second baby? Loves me for me. I don't have to buy her a ton of things. We can go in the store and she doesn't even look . I Love that. My relationship with her is just that. Sure if I want to buy her something I do. But its my terms and not the mothers or even my sons. Its up to me and baby girl still loves me!

Chin up.
Sometimes there is a moment you have to say...
I take care of me.
Rose

slj said...

Austin will always be in a tough spot trying to keep the peace with the mother of his child. He can only be the best dad he can be. He shouldn't give in to her demands. Austin will find that when he goes back to only having the baby on court appointed days, Mom will be looking for some alone time and may rethink how she handles things. These precious kids should not be used to get your own way. Hopefully mom will figure that out. I do not blame Austin one bit for not wanting her at the Holiday functions. She has no place there and in the long run, it will only cause major problems.
I'm hoping he gets the new job. I know that Austin is not responsible for the loss of the last job, but having aspergers makes being in the workforce difficult. Has he thought about applying for social security? It would help during times like this. He would still be allowed to work. In my state, they can make up to $1,000.00 a month before it affects their disability.
Wishing the best for all of you
Sheri

Lauren Michelle said...

Do what is best for your sweet Cosy. She is adorable and needs a family. Grandparents are a blessing in a childs life.