Persephone, let me add to the long list of people here who think you rock. It takes courage and heart to do what you are doing. May your idea of a Supreme Being bless you!
If your husband’s ex is truly coming here to SC, please tell her there are literally hundreds of places willing to help her out. I’ve been stuck in a bad situation (although never near what she may have experienced) and I am so appreciative of what was done to help me out here. I couldn’t thank my counselor enough, and she finally told me that the best way to thank her was to pass what I knew on to someone else who needed help. My email is always open; if she needs a point in the right direction, I’m willing to do whatever I can to help out, even if it’s indirectly through you and your husband. Good luck with Timi!!
I love seeing families that work. They don’t show up on TV or the news too often… kudos to you and your husband, and especially Timi’s mom for bailing out of a bad situation gracefully.
You people are so kind. That’s why I’ve never been able to leave this place.
(((((((group hug!))))))
Got the boy enrolled in school. He starts tomorrow, an he’s really happy about that. He misses school. According to his mother (and him) he’s good at making friends.
The school he’ll be going to is right at the end of my street, a block and a half away. He’ll be in one of the units outside the actual school building. In fact, the unit he’ll be in is maybe 20 feet from the unit where my daughter goes to preschool. So, the boy will be walking his little sister home from school. He’s excited about that. When he’s with his mom, he’s the youngest (he has two older sisters). But when he’s here, he’s the oldest. The big brother. He likes having a little responsibility.
He actually seems quite okay. He understands quite well that his mom has no job, and no place to live. He knows why he’s here, and he’s okay with it.
He hasn’t had a birthday party yet (his birthday was last Monday), but we’re working on that. My mom wants to do something. It’s just a question of when. Probably this weekend or next. We’ll hook up with my dad soon too, but not for another couple of weeks–my dad is leaving on Friday for his anniversary vacation (going to Hawaii, the rat :D).
I appreciate all of you, and all the offers of help. I just might be takng some of you up on that.
Persephone–my son is 8 and my heart is in my throat reading about your stepson.
Please ignore my advice if it’s not appropriate, but I gotta give you a few tips about what my son is currently into (it’s very different from what his pre-school-age sister is into).
Right now, soccer rules, but the city’s recreational basketball league starts at the end of November (it’s probably too late for Timi to do soccer).
In school, he’s just starting multiplication, so multiplication flashcards might be good; also they’re practicing cursive writing and doing quite a bit of map reading and making–maybe a globe?
As for books, the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey is popular, and we are reading Harry Potter together.
My son will be a mummy for Halloween. He likes all the Nickolodeon cartoons and a computer game called Backyard Football.
I hope things continue to go well, Cristi. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for all of you… If you need anything, especially useless trinkets, let me know!
Today was Timi’s first day of school. He loves it. Whew, what a relief.
I just talked to his other grandmother, too (his mom’s mom). She got our number from the motel phone bill (she paid for them to stay there). Grandma hadn’t heard from them since Monday night, and had no idea where the kids were. She was most relieved to find out that they were with their fathers. Apparently she hasn’t even seen the kids in two years. But she lives in Saginaw, which isn’t too far from here. I told her that maybe we could get together sometime soon. She liked that idea. Okay by me.
Okay, now I have a request–does anyone have any winter clothes that you wan to get rid of? Timi’s only got one bag of clothes. A lot of jeans & pants, but his shirts are mostly t-shirts & lighter summer stuff (I know his mom got rid of a lot of things, because they were originally going to move to a warmer climate). I’m taking him shopping tomorrow to get some things (like a coat–it’s getting chilly here now,and the one he’s got just isn’t warm enough). I don’t need a whole lot, but if anyone’s got any things like sweaters, sweatshirts, turtlenecks, or other winter things you’d like to get rid of, I sure wouldn’t mind having them. Just drop me an email, and I’ll let you know his sizes and my address.
We talked for a while last night. He was crying and very upset. When he’s here, he misses her. When he’s with her, he misses us. All I could do was let him cry and talk, and tell him it was okay for him to feel that way. I did my best to just validate his feelings, and let him know that we were always here for him.
He’s going to go to a child psychologist soon, too. I asked him last night if he wanted to talk to one, and explained what it is they do. He said that he’d like to do that. My EAP will cover him for five visits, then my health insurance will cover it. So that’s not a problem.
We haven’t heard from his mom since last Wednesday morning, when my husband called to let her know that they’d made it back. That worries me. A lot. I don’t think she’s dead or anything, but I am starting to think that she’s into something a lot worse than she let on. I hate thinking that, I really do. Makes me just want to cry.
ya know, just today i was wondering how things were going with y’all. thank you for the update.
the cp is a good idea. it will be great for him to have a neutral person to talk to. sometimes you just can’t say stuff 'cause you are afraid it will hurt them, then it just hurts you.
you handled last night very well. not hearing from his mom is troublesome, perhaps she is afraid that any communications she makes could be traced?
