It’s been a weird few weeks (hence the increased blog posts). In some ways it’s been tough, because a lot of quite traumatic memories have been dragged up, but ultimately, it’s been a time that’s confirmed how far I’ve come and how much better things are for me. I’ve realised how just happy I am and […]
Tag: advice
Baby
I’m sorry for the lack of blog over the last few months. As I’ve mentioned on the Facebook page, events have rather overwhelmed me in the last few months. The court case has happened, and looks likely to happen again (more in another post), but the most important thing that’s happened, and something I couldn’t […]
Crunch
Well, I knew it was coming. It was inevitable. I’ve watched in despair as I got deeper and deeper into debt just to pay the mortgage, the bills and buy food, but the end of June, is officially crunch point – the moment when I touch the bottom of my overdraft and the point where […]
notes and queries
I hesitated before posting this today, because the vast majority of people who surround me; my family, my friends and the readers of this blog, are amazing and supportive and utterly brilliant and this post doesn’t apply to them. It’s just that, sometimes, just sometimes, over the last couple of years I’ve encountered unsolicited opinions and […]
Spite and Malice
“Spite and Malice, also known as Cat and Mouse, is a traditional card game for two or more players. It is a form of competitive solitaire with a number of variations that can be played with two or three regular decks of cards.” The film The Wars of The Roses was the first time I thought of divorce as a […]
Humpty Dumpty
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” I’ve spent a lot of the last two years wondering how E would describe his behaviour or behave when confronted with it. I’ve seen (and quoted) emails he […]
Trust
I’m pleased to report that E has now paid the January installment of Child Maintenance that the Child Maintenance Service asked him for. He’s still not paying anything towards his share of the mortgage, or any maintenance at all for the girls (I receive child benefit for the boys, so the CMS can only arrange […]
Teens
In the midst of all of the worry about money and what, if anything, E intends financially for December, life goes on. Despite the fact that I’m living in a state of almost constant anxiety about money, most of my time at home is still spent cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and shouting at the kids […]
Bully
When I was 15, I was bullied by a group of about ten boys in my year. I was the new girl. They were a gang that (ridiculously), called themselves The Swarm. Their MO was to slowly approach and surround their target in the school playground, whilst slowly saying the word ‘swarm’. Once they’d done […]
Money
The children’s reactions to E’s decision to withhold payment of the money were varied. Apart from Oldest Daughter, I didn’t tell them what had happened for a week or so. To be honest, I was hoping that E had forgotten, or was just making a point before he paid the money. When it became clear […]