It is the holiday season. It is always rough for me, and I know it is for many of you. I used to look forward to Christmas with my kids. The waiting, the excitement, the sheer joy of waking up on Christmas morning, running downstairs to discover that Santa Claus really did come. It reminded me so much of when I was a kid, and I took great pride that we were able to continue the tradition.
I remember one year, when my oldest was about 4 or 5 - the big toy that year was called a "Furby", a cute little talking owl. My little girl wanted that Furby sooooo bad! Unfortunately the stores had run out of them weeks before Christmas. I had the job of trying to prep my little princess for the possibility that maybe the elves on the North Pole were overworked this year and maybe the Furby just wouldn't come.
On Christmas Eve, in desperation, I made some phone calls and happened to find a Toys-R-Us in a different town that had 1 Furby left. I drove 2 hours down down and 2 hours back and made it home by 11 at night. I didn't even gift wrap it, I just opened it up and stuck it deep in the Christmas Tree like an ornament.
Morning came and we all ran down to start ripping open the presents. Yea, Santa had come and left all kinds of good stuff, including an awesome Barbie Jeep that really drives! But after all the boxes were open and wrapping paper torn to shreds, there was still no talking owl. Awe, ;-(
I took a little piece of cardboard and laid it in a particular spot right by the Christmas tree. I challenged Dylan to see if she could drive the Barbie Jeep and stop exactly on the cardboard. She did, and then I said, "Whoa, what's that?"
It took a second, but then she saw it. "A talking owl! A talking owl! I knew Santa wouldn't forget! I knew it!!"
She went and grabbed her Furby and started making him talk and laughing. For the whole next year her and her little friends would have fun with all their Furbies. And so it was for years. When Dylan was 7, along came her little sister. For 17 straight years I did all the regular dad stuff with my kids, including reading bed time stories every single night. I loved my kids, and they loved me.
They are 25 and 18 now. I haven't seen or spoken to either one for over 5 years, since the nonsense restraining order went down. How is this possible? What happened?
Family Court happened. My now ex-wife used the now time-tested technique of alienating the children to break my heart, so as to gain an advantage in property disputes. Parental Alienation is real. Parental Alienation is child abuse. Parental Alienation is rewarded in the Family Court system. It is a national tragedy.
If you are like me and in a lot of pain this holiday season because of what the Family Court did to you, at least know you are not alone. Join the Family Court Anti-Corruption Coalition. Reach out. Do something about it.