Thanks to all my angels today. It was a long day. My lawyer was by my side and rather than get stuck in a room with the Nidiot and his lawyer, we basically seperated and the mediator went back and forth. This made it much less stressful....any emotional crap did not go back and forth, but I felt free to express it, along with resolutions and things that were productive.
I had to compromise, and so did the NNNNutjob. This mediator agreed with me that my daughter should have a say in things and was able to convince my ex of the same, and that means more to me than anything. We still have some "tweaking" to do, and my attorney and I are convinced this is when my ex will go for more of the unreasonable bullshit, like involvement in my daughter's dating (HUH?) and wanting her to visit even if he goes out of town, but the mediator said he would come back to help us settle that "dog in the corner" (his words) for FREE, which means a lot.
He was a great guy, and really listened to me about my D getting a voice. He must have done a great job selling my ex on being on his side, too, because I never thought my ex would agree to some things he did. Mostly, as you all probably figured long ago, it came down to money...if he got the money situation his way, or mostly his way, other things could go my way, which they did. (now I need some angels to help me get a job!!!)
I was a little bummed at the money compromises, but after figuring out how much I would pay in attorney's fees, etc, just to continue fighting....well, it was more cost effective to let the moron have a bit of his way (not entirely, mind you).
So I wrote this down at the end in my notes: (like the mastercard tv ads)
Attorney's fees and court costs: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Years of therapy:$$$$$$
Compromises financially:$$$$$$$$$
All the money I pay for the kids' tuition and activities, etc. (which he pays none of) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
All his hidden money:$$$$$$$$$$
My freedom from this A**h***: PRICELESS!!!
