Divorce

[hubris 1]

" Bring sean home" I dont know, I guess you need to be young. Im not anymore. US courts do the very same thing and no one complains. If you do, they think your just a poor sport. Divorce, custody.........Is that the ethos of your life? Not mine. Good luck buddy, Not for me anymore. Every war has its casualities.

[hubris 1]

Ok, Let me give you a little inside scoop about what its like.
You and Mary just arent meant to be married anymore. You live in New Jersey and have 2 kids, ages 8 and 9. You think this is going to be easy because you both want the same thing.....right? Whats best for the kids........
Your first day in court and you meet this lawyer your wife has hired. Where did this guy come from? Anyway, the first thing the do is take away your right to do as you please when you please when it comes to your children. X number of dollars a week to the wife for child support and for now you can see the kids on saturdays only 12-4 pm. Oh, by the way, please stop at the adult probation office on your way out to register with probation. Its not like your really on it, its just a formality they do so they can put you in jail for nothing should the need arise. Violation of probation can get you an immediate 30 days so you can think about your sudden outburst and anger and not do it again.
Wednesday, your lawyer calls........Do you have a gun? Yea.....I have a few. I hunt with them. Well, please contact your probation officer and let him know so they can pick them up. Your not allowed to have them now. And dont tell me little johnny has a BB gun, does he? Yea, I bought it last year for christmas. Well Mary told her lawyer that you let him shoot birds in the back yard.........so now he needs to go to a child psychologist and hes not allowed to see you on saturday. Dont worry, we will go back to court and get this all resolved. Remember, call the probation office.
Next time in court you notice a lot more sheriffs. They are there to guard YOU. Every graduate of the local community college works in the court system as some sort of child protection advocate. Today, your gonna meet them. The judge isnt impressed with your hunting any time soon. No guns for you.
Well by now, when you pick up the kids they dont even want to see you. They are a little depressed, all you are is a pizza and an ice cream cone to them. How can you possibly raise children 4 hours a week? Today Mary wants them home early because her mother and father are coming over for dinner and the children havent seen them in a while with all the stress and everything.
Your not a man anymore. Your not sure who you are. You went from being a father to being the ice cream delivery guy for your kids and they dont really seem to like you anymore. Your in-laws look at you like you committed some sort of crime and just didnt get caught yet. The court treats you like you robbed a bank and want to be let out on parole. Begging and pleading for some sort of relief, they always turn you down. You are a DEFENDANT in a court case #9873065. That makes you a border line guy to watch.
All both of you wanted, was what was best for the kids......How did it come to this? Well, dont worry, its gonna get worse before it gets better. And when its all over, you better act grateful for what you got left. You better be able to still get all choked up just thinking about your kids and how well you want them to do in life, but you know what? They dont care. Your part of what makes the system work and it feels pretty disgusting if you ask me. And that my friend is what you have to look forward to. I could go on and on but I think you get my point. Be careful what you wish for.