Wait - the ordering you are assuming is wrong. I reached out to her family AFTER the protection order.
Look, I know why she petitioned for protection - it was a tactic. She actually confessed to my sister that she asked for the protection order because she was afraid that I would have the kids taken from her, for her behavior. She wanted to pre-empt me. She said this. (Unless my sister is lying, which I doubt). Her fear was real, but unfounded.
The weird irony is, the more she reacts to this fear, the more real the object of her fear becomes. You know? How tragic is that? It is as if her fear actually conjures the thing she is afraid of. It's a plot device out of a Harry Potter book! She invents allegations because she is afraid of losing her kids, and when all the allegations prove false, what is the evaluator going to say?
My beef is with a system that allows and even encourages this. Ok, we ought to protect the innocents and defenseless. I agree with that strongly. But can we not have a speedier evaluation? Why does it take 4 months for the state to get around to evaluating her allegations? And, why are there no repercussions for false allegations?
