Everwhere is walking distance if you have the time

[ClingingToHope]

I got really sad at D13's birthday because I know the fun childhood years are over. It's an adjustment. I think I've been a very good childhood dad. Being a teen dad is just sooo much tougher and more important, really, in the grand scheme of things.

Father's Day was good. I picked them up for church. D9 went to the children's program. I asked D13 not to volunteer with the 4 and 5 year olds and actually sit with me in the main auditorium.

She did and it was really fun. She was saying on the way back that she really learned a couple of things.

D9 and I swam for an hour while D13 just listened to music. D13 had to go out of town for theater camp today so I let her go back to XW's because XW was driving her to camp. XW sent me a text that she'd be gone for the day and not back until 8 p.m.

So D13 and I went for a walk at 5 for an hour and I just listened and responded to questions. It was a really, really good walk. Then we had dinner and D9 and I walked D13 back to XW's at 7:30 p.m. so I'd avoid having to see XW.

D9 stayed here and I took her to horse back riding camp today. I picked her up as well. It was so hot they didn't get to ride and that upset D9. This is going to be a very interesting week. It's 50/50 that D9 makes it through. I picked D9 up 45 minutes early on a hunch the heat was going to make for a tough day. I took her swimming before I had to leave to umpire.

Email from XW tonight. She's upset with all the things I've got planned for summer. She said all these things don't leave her anything to do with them.

I'm reading it and thinking to myself that XW gets to have them the majority of the nights. She still has the "family" home, while I make do in a house half the size. She takes them to her mom's campground with the beach, two pools and miniputt course. She's taking them to Uncle Fester's sisters family farm so they can ride horses. Uncle Fester has given D9 a ride on a motorcycle.

While they do that, I'm working five different jobs to keep my head above water.

So now she's trying to shame me into dialing down my plans because I'm infringing on her.

I responded that I only get four weeks off a year with them and I'm going to pack as much as I can into those weeks until they no longer feel like hanging out with dad.

I didn't say I'm already working on the trips for 2013 -- Florida and St. Louis and then New York in 2014.

Ironically, these were all trips that D13 and I planned back when she was 8. We made a list of places we wanted to go to. We showed it to XW, who didn't seem all that excited.

I won't be able to make all of those trips, which I know by heart, during D13's pre college years. But I'm going to do as many as we can.