I’m pretty happy with my reply. She had texted me but not mentioned anything in person, so I texted her back (medium is the message) even though we’re in the same house. Somehow I felt that if I approached her about her message she’d shut down again.
To paraphrase my reply, “I understand you’re feeling like I’m trying to shield the kids from you. If I were in your shoes I’d be really upset about that. I’m sorry, that must suck. For my motivation, that hadn’t even crossed my mind. I hope you know i would never do that. I’m sorry about being unclear with the destination, I won’t do that in the future. My only motivation is being the best father I can and showing my kids some beautiful places.”
Basically, just what you said. Validate, validate, validate. I didn’t touch on her suggestion that something major had shifted between us, it wasn’t a question and didn’t seem like it needed a response.
As far as the school schedule, I should be able to do that from now on. My work schedule generally allows it.
