Wife of 6-Years is Divorcing Me pt.V

[workinghardguy]

W: No. I've been really busy; I haven't checked my email in days.
M: Well, when you get the chance, have a look at it.
W: Why do you need a schedule? We may have plans. Just call whenever.

... and end scene. IMO, you should've just ended it right there. After that it became more about her not complying with your request than about the request.

I understand wanting to be able to reach your S when he's gone for 18 days (and I won't get into the related issue of why she thinks she's entitled to an 18 day period with him). The schedule was, ostensibly, to make reaching him possible. She pushed back and didn't like the idea. And then, at least to me, it appears to have become about her not wanting to go along with your idea. However, she did offer a second idea, "calling whenever". Is it possible that when you do call whenever she'll become annoyed or angry? Sure it is. But then you can at least remind her that calling whenever was the agreed upon solution.

Co-parenting is tough... it's about respecting the freedoms and decisions of the other. When she has your S she has the control. If she doesn't want to give you a schedule she won't. Pushing only makes it worse. It's like that scene from A Few Good Men:

Lawyer: "I object!"
Judge: "Overruled"
Other Lawyer (Demi Moore's character): "I strenuously object!"
Judge: "Still overruled!"

and Tom Cruise's character (Caffrey) goes on to explain to Demi Moore that she just made her and the legal team out to be weaklings. That she overplayed her hand and showed how little power she really has.

Don't overplay... identify what you can control and what you can't. And when confronted something you can't, learn that you have to accept the powerlessness.