Last night D7 told me that she told her mommy that I am lonely when they are not there. I'm not sure where she got that from. But her mommy told her I stay plenty busy when they are gone.
Honestly, she probably got that from a vibe you send off. Take a page from your W's book and start offering your children some assurance that when they are not there with you not only are you okay, but you are fabulous!
Then D7 asked me if I missed W. I said yes. I miss her very much. And then we left it at that.
Well, that is where she got the "daddy's lonely" bit from. When you tell a 7yo that you miss somebody very much it implies lonliness and sadness. Is that what you want to project on to your two young daughters? The same two daughters that have been through their own personal hell (you leaving to go to Florida, parents splitting up, you moving to your own place, having to be shuffled back and forth every other week and you no longer being included in family events with your W's family). All they want to know is that things will be okay. They want to know both their mom and dad will be just fine and it doesnt sound like you are providing that for them.
Get them excited about their time with you so when they do have to go back to your W's house they will have a sense of some positive momentum building. I posted three free publications for FREE things to do with kids in the Dallas area a while back. Have you looked into them? Why not treat Dallas like you are seeing it for the first time with your kids and find new and interesting things to do? Why not get them started on some projects at your apartment (container gardening for example). Picnics? Something! Get creative so they can spend their time with you having fun and feeling content - not worried about your sadness and lonliness.
