So I had a few events happen last week that all seem independent but it also seems strange they all occur during the same period. If anyone has any thoughts let me know...

1. On Wednesday afternoon I found my weights I had let OM borrow stacked neatly in front of my garage upon returning home.
2. On Wednesday I received the bill for $500+ for a visit where D1 got shots because W had let her insurance lapse.
3. On Wednesday W seemed very talkative via text message and also asked about renewing insurance.
4. On Thursday I was given a letter by my kid's daycare that said "since reconciliation doesn't seem likely" that I would need to start paying the full amount starting Monday... not much notice. $185 per week.
5. On Thursday W's attorney 'canceled' W's appearance at the deposition due to a "scheduling conflict."
6. On Friday OM's father came by my house knocking on the door and acted friendly saying he had "noticed" my weights lying around and thought "I don't need these, I'll give them back to H so he can work out." I laughed and said thanks, and he went home.
7. OM was home Saturday, and usually this is when he and W hook up and do something... his car never left the entire day, and she never went by there.
8. I gave W a lawyered up letter discussing my concerns she had let D1's insurance lapse, offering to help her obtain new insurance, and paying half ($250+) of the bill. She called me 30 minutes after I left from picking up D1 (she never calls me) and pleaded and explained her position saying "I don't want you to think I'm not getting her insured." I asked how long her new insurance was going to take and she said "5-6 weeks" and I told her that wouldn't cut it if she got sick or something happened soon - that she needed to get something temporarily and I'd pay half.

W/MIL acted nice during both pickup and delivery of D1. Nothing was said, and I keep those things short and to the point anyway while the legal stuff is ongoing.

So... that is a lot of little things to happen at once, and I sense W's lawyer's hand in some of it. I imagine the niceness from OM's family and the lack of W going over there might be due to the fact they've gotten notice that I'm calling them all as witnesses. I imagine the charging me full price for daycare is an attempt to bleed me of necessary funds for the upcoming "battle" and I'm sure W's attorney is hoping to score a trial date push back.

Of course I've got my own counter moves, moving S7/S8 off the chess board by sending them to stay with relatives temporarily. This will prevent the $185 per week cost plus keep W/MIL from using them as pawns by attempting to butter me up by acting nice to them. Nothing changes in terms of my strategy, and if this is their attempt to "force" a reconciliation by showing me how expensive it will be without W I don't think I'll play that game.

No reconciliation without W taking ownership of her problems. They haven't said anything, but I would imagine my 'strategy' would be to get at least a temporary reconciliation so the fault grounds go away and they can balance the terms of a future engagement.

So anyway... on to the story of Saturday:

Pickup of D1 went fine. W/MIL didn't say too much. W was holding D1 and I reached out my arms, D1 hesitated for a second, then grinned and said "DA DA!" and then lunged out to me. W/MIL did the whole "hug" routine with S7/S8.

We went to the mall, swapped 'gamer tags' with a girl who works at the game store, then we went to the park. They had a great time there, S7/S8 threw the football with another family and D1 explored all over the place. We went to the grocery store, then picked up snacks for D1, and then came home. She spent the remainder of her time eating, exploring the house (including her room), and playing with toys. She didn't want to take a nap.

During the delivery, D1 was happy to see W. She was standing between us, and I held out my arms and she walked to me. I gave her a hug/kiss bye and when W held her I waved bye and D1 said "bye" and waved her hand.

They left without incident... nothing being said, just pleasantries, etc.

"You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into."