Reading about your girls is like hearing someone talk about my two. My oldest has been hit the hardest - she still hasn't told her friends her dad has moved out and my youngest seems to be taking it in her stride.
My best friend has recently married a man who has three kids with his XW. They've been together about 5 years. The kids always spend christmas day with their mum and then they have 'fake christmas' with their dad. They look forward to both christmas'.
Fake birthdays are as good as real birthdays as long as they are full of love and laughter ... and of course, presents.
Your kids will be the same. A week away with them (without your XW) is something to look forward to.
I think my girls will be alright--primarily because my XW and I are both handling this properly. There has been little animosity and none in front of the girls.
These next two months will be the tough ones. I will visit them only once/month. Fortunately, I get the weekends to sandwich the week I'm with them. I'll see them 9-10 days. I'll do this twice in April, so that is good. May is when we start to settle down in our new city for good. I'm looking forward to the 50/50 split.
XW emailed me today. It's our first contact in a couple of weeks. She responded to an email I sent last week regarding financial issues. It was weird that she waited so long to respond. She said she was busy with work, told me to stay warm, and said she hopes I had fun in El Salvador. So, we are cordial with limited contact. I reckon this will be the way it will be from now on, and that's okay. I will be keep the peace. Being bitter doesn't help me or the girls. I will listen and validate when she talks (good practice for my future relationships). My goal in our relationship is to make all of this easier on our girls.
I'm still not back to my routine, and I need to get back to it. I have started looking for houses in the city we are moving to, and I pray that the contingent offer on our house comes through to relieve some of the stress I'm feeling and I pray that we get an offer soon on our house down south. I will be happy when this nightmare ends.
