WAW w/Exit Affair or WW? - Divorced Anyway (4)

[BL42]

Vacation - Just returned from a fantastic two week beach vacation with the kiddos. We swam in the ocean, jumped over waves, built castles in the sand, enjoyed the pool, mini-golf, arcade, ice cream, boardwalk rides, dolphin sight-seeing boat tour, and took S6 to a preseason professional sporting event (our team) as well as a monster truck ride (he's really into them right now). What a blast! It was exhausting at times but well worth it! I would've preferred a partner in all this - ExW and I used to be a well oiled machine about taking care of vacation logistics and prep, but we a lot of fun and it was great bonding.

Two minor items...

1) Overheard ExW telling the kids she was at OM2's dad's house during one of their video calls. I recognize I need to get past that, but it did still work me up a bit.

2) Ex-FIL was pretty passive aggressive about talking to the kids while on vacation. We'd only been gone 2 days when he texted me about it being "far too long since he spoke with his grandkids" and "as you know, it only takes 5 minutes". I have no problem with them talking but I am doing the bulk of work vacationing with two young kids and it's not super convenient to line up times when you're in the ocean/sand. However, I took the high road and made sure they spoke halfway. I want to maintain a good relationship and ensure he responds in kind when watching them on my "off" time, but on the other hand I'm thinking...my parents wouldn't text ExW to talk to the kids while they're on vacation with her.

The major news is...ExW is moving!

She notified via email during vacation she bought a new house closing in a month and will be moving out of the house she moved back into when she physically separated (in which we lived together for a year before and a year after our wedding, and I then managed as a rental property for 5 years when we bought what's now my current place).

Therefore, the kids are going to have to switch "mommy's house" and go through a move once again. Not sure if they're going to feel disrupted yet again, or if they'll just go with the flow. Seems like a whole lot of change for them in a short amount of time. Maybe it'll bolster my credibility as the stable one and have them see my house as the constant. Not sure if ExW recognizes she's become her mother (who she always said she didn't want to be) and putting her/our kids through living w/an affair partner and moving, the same thing Ex-MIL did to her.

The good news is it's still fairly close so it won't be more inconvenient. and because it's in a different / less desirable district I finally be listed as the primary parent / residence in terms of the school district. It doesn't really matter legally, but it was an issue for me for awhile because I was doing all the school support (virtual learning, caring before/after, transportation to/from), yet she was listed as the primary. Also, if she ever wants to change the arrangement in the future it gives me the advantage of being the sole parent in the district which the kids attend.

The bad news (or at least interesting aspect) is the new house is directly across the street from OM2's sister. So...ExW is heavily doubling down on OM2. It's also a street over from Ex-MIL's new residence, and I suspect they're moving her grandma into her old house, so it's like she left, moved a couple miles away, and replaced me and my family (who she originally wanted to buy a house near) with her new man and family. It's incredible...just a drag and drop into a new life. So if ExW & OM2 ever have issues down the road she'll be living across the street from his family, though I guess she did with mine and just picked up and left anyway, so who knows what will happen. It reinforces my perspective of the "one big happy family" transplant view. Maybe another reason to try to switch transition schedules from Sunday night to before/after school, so I won't have to head over that way.

Dating - I've had very little success with online dating. Most profiles I "swipe left" on, and those I "swipe right" I don't hear back / nothing comes of. I'm probably just going to disable my accounts for a bit. I did go out on a date a month and a half ago and she invited me over a week later and we hooked up, so I finally crossed that bridge. However, our schedules didn't align for a bit and texting dropped off soon and I saw her out on a date with another guy recently so that's probably run its course. We probably weren't super compatible anyway. I did have two different friends try on the same evening try to set me up with different women who seemed cute, but I then left town on vacation and haven't heard anything more, so we'll see what comes of it.

GAL - I started a graduate program / master's degree in my professional field. I'm taking the first (800 level) class starting this week, so it'll be interesting to see how I can balance that with everything. It's online, like my job, so it'll be intellectually stimulating, but won't necessarily have me meeting people in-person. Part of me wonders if I shouldn't take on more like that and rather pursue more face-to-face connections such as running club or trying a beginner's yoga class. We'll see have the first semester goes and adjust accordingly.

Anyway, that's my August. It's been a fun Summer with the kids and the school year quickly approaching...