New thread - starting the protection phase!

[flowmom]

Hope, I am so proud of you...you are taking wonderful steps for yourself and your son.

I really recommend that you read this book
http://www.amazon.com/Helping-Your-Kids-Divorce-Sandcastles/dp/0679778012
You are going through such a tough situation, especially with respect to helping your S. I think the book will give you food for thought in terms of aligning yourself with what's best for him. It's hard because increasingly you are going to have to split your thoughts and relationship with your WH. You have a relationship with him as your WH, but he is also the father of your child. The book can help you understand your S's POV, and what steps you can take to create a new future for your S.

It must be really hard to hear the limitations of how the law will support you in this situation. My hope for you is that you'll be able to concentrate on what you can control, and let go of what you can't control (and even work on accepting/embracing reality). That is the road towards sanity, the road that you're courageously walking down every day.

I admire you very much. I know that you are dealing with a very harsh reality and it's great that you are gathering allies around you as you are doing this.

I still feel sad about what divorce means for my children and for me as a mother. But I don't feel sad for me as a woman. I am so much better off now. GAL isn't *getting* a life any more...I have a life and it's getting better every day. It is 100% amazing to experience being with men who appreciate and enjoy me when I'm used to rejection and contempt...for years. And I am dealing with life stuff too, like being a grownup and figuring out how to be financially independent. I know how scary it is...there's a lot of anxiety for me there.

YOU CAN DO THIS HOPE!!