Beginning now...

[AntoniaB]

Yeah I was mainly being facetious when I said don't go to his games--I'm sure that could come off as vindictive.

However, here's the scenario that was kind of behind my thoughts on that: You go to his game, his father and OW are there with their public displays of affection, and he turns on you on the way home, or right after the game, etc., when he can't say what he really wants to say to his father. As in, is his behavior the worst right after seeing his father, like after these games (which are a serious blow to you as well), or is it just all over the place, and I think part of me was thinking you have to try to detach from when he's at his worst as a form of self-protection.

I understand completely wanting to be a supportive parent and being the bigger person and all that, but to be very frank, my mom was super supportive and I was in a ton of different band events, and I don't hold it against her (and never did) that she wasn't able to make every single event. Sometimes she just had to work or was just exhausted, and though my parents were divorced, my dad never came to much of anything, and I don't feel bad about him as a result.

I am concerned for you here because it seems like these games are so upsetting to you, and him being mean on top of it isn't helping. You don't want to AVOID everything in your path, but is there a way to lessen the number of times you have to deal with some of these things for your own emotional health?