Heather,
Just a thought but the school that both my D's went to K-8 was a small, private school. The largest class that either had was 11 kids. This base has been such a help to them both. My D15 is now in public school and is getting straight "A's" and even she knows that a big reason is the excellent ed. she got at this school. They also had financial asst. for people who couldn't afford to pay. This type of school may be exactly what your D needs. The kids all knew one another so well there was much less social anxiety. They were more like brothers and sisters since there were so few of them and they spent so much time together. You may want to look for a school like this in your area as an alternative to a large, public school. At least for her middle school years as a transition time until HS.

Like you I don't have any family except my kids anywhere near me. My W moved us 1600 miles to be closer to HER family. I now have no one while she has her family around to help. I have been so busy trying to find work and just get to a point where I can pay my bills every month, I have been isolated (except for the weeks I have my D15 which I love). Once I get really into my new job, once I get a few paychecks (my first paycheck isn't until next Friday!) and have caught up on my bills, I know that I need to start expanding my world. I need to start getting to know more people, having a life that is more than just work and worry. Like you, my new work entails that I get out into the public, get involved in the local community. To make our jobs work, both of us have to be able to make the time to become members of our communities. You will find it easier to write about what is going on in your area if it is a part of your and your D's life. I know it's hard and I'm not minimizing that. Believe me, I need to do more myself. But I really think that part of the problem you are having with the paper is that you are new to the area and don't yet know what people in that area are the most interested in reading about. Every small community has it's own "culture" and you being new to the area and having to deal with all you've been, you haven't had a chance to really learn what that is. I really think that once you get past this part, the part where you learn just exactly what the publishers want, you will be able to become more comfortable getting each issue out. I'm actually surprised that they expected you to just know what they expected from day one. Maybe asking the editors to show you which past issues they were the most proud of and why could help you get an idea of what THEY think the "perfect" issue looks like? The weekly you were with in the past may have been in an area where the local's were really interested in, say, local politics. While in this area they may be more into local HS sports. This is something that you need to learn as you go along.

I'm not going to try and tell what is best for your D. I can't imagine how hard it was watching them carry her into school against her will screaming for help...that is a nightmare! I will say this, we all here have to find new ways to deal now that our lives have forever been changed because of our S's MLC. What we were doing in the past is longer tenable because we can't count on help from anyone, especially our Ex's. I know that your D doesn't deal well with change but because her father has decided that his happiness is more important than what is best for her you have to find new methods that will work. It stinks and isn't "right' but it is a fact. You CAN do this, Heather. It's just a matter of finding new ways that work.