Welcome and much love to all our members...

How can I express the love and ache of my daughter growing up... the ridiculousness of my former wife... the trials of trying so hard to remain an effective and purposeful and always loving parent....

This is the only place where I feel that I am a member of a community that actually puts there children first... and that saddens me....

Anyway, my baby is struggling... health issues contine to bother her... her Junior yeat (college) recital is on the December 10th... she's so stressed....

I love her so much yet can't do much more other than be there for her.... that's a very difficult position to be in... I've always lived my life to fix anything that causes her a problem....

Yet, she grew beyond me and became her own person years ago.... not that she won't always need me, and not that I won't always care for her....

I'm just not caring much for this whole kids growing into adults thing....

Not so much a post or a call for response... just a statement of where we are...

And, at the same time, I know that she knows that I'm the one person she can count on....

Always be good to your children, best of fathers in the world!!!

All the best,

Smokey

Hey Smokey,

You know that, I am in something of the same boat as you, my lad is just at that point where he very much does his own thing, makes his own decisions, works part-time, goes out with the lads, has plans for his future (which is good) that I might not have envisaged for him.....and it is tough not to be able to be there for him all the time, to be the one he might turn to first now.

What I do treasure is the knowledge from our chats at how responsible he has become towards his friends when they are out, the message I give him re getting home safely is one he applies rigidly to those he cares for. I know in a couple of years from now that he will most likely not be living here full-time, atleast that will be a positive choice in his life and not a situation where he is driven to it by the situation at home (yes I am talking about his mum!!!). Even the coming summers vacation, he is planning to go away with friends from school and college, but I think he might come with David and I too...

So don't worry bud, they are always our kids, and will not easily forget what great fathers we are...were... and that home will always be where we are. I look forward to my son as an adult, still taking the time to include me in his adventures because he loves and cares for me, knows the relationship we have is so very important...and not out of some sense of duty.

Cheerio for now....Vincent...xx

Thanks for the response, Vincey... yes, we're just a coupla years apart in Jess and Conor's maturation... I was just feeling rather maudlin when I posted that...

I actually had gone into it with the thought of posting a rather ironic and humorous post about the last several months... hee hee.... I keep trying to keep a sense of humor about things...

But, I realize I've already said most of it...oh, except the fact that there is still a desk sitting in the front yard of the house of my former wife (for about two months now)... and the woman has the nerve to continue to ask me for money 4 1/2 years after we separated, 2 1/2 years after my daughter started college, while she's shacking up with the homeless, unemployed man who's in recovery... hmmmm....

LOL... really, I'm not complaining... I just find it all very bizarre... and, when I step aside from it, quite amusing....

I greatly look forward to posting about my Jess's Junior recital here.... that's going to be an interesting cast of characters.... why is my very quiet life so seemingly wierd....

Anyway, Vince, I do appreciate your response, love... I know just what you're going through and I think David's oldest turning 16 has brought all that back to me.... and I'm most impressed that Conor is proving to be such a responsible young man... though I'm hardly surprised by that. You have every reason to be extraordinarily proud of him...

Oh, and the bug has been asked back to do another show at the theatre she just finished doing a show with.... I'm not just a little proud of her...

Even if I do have to help with a car payment I can ill afford....

LOL... whatever... it's all good...

All the best,

Smokey