Good Old England

[adinva]

I'm feeling a lot of stress right now too, I'm in the middle of a divorce, my mom is undergoing chemotherapy and developing Alzheimer's, one of my sons is breaking house rules and the law, the other is needing expensive psychiatric care, my job of 15 years is going badly, and I'm worried about having enough money to pay the bills let alone get two boys to college.

So I should get a summer at the beach too, right? Parents do not think that way. Parents take care of themselves so they can take care of their kids. I'm doing at least five different things to keep myself in top condition to fulfill my responsibility to my kids - IC, medication when needed, exercise, planning career change to improve my quality of life, and conscientiously focusing on the positive. Not one of them includes going AWOL on my kids.

I would chalk your thought process up to someone who is very immature and not ready to be a parent, but I don't recall that you are especially young, which is why I and others here keep telling you it seems like you have a problem with your perception that you don't seem to be growing up out of. This may be what your W thinks too, why she is not eager to give you more custody.