I'm a Dad again!

[DGXSER]

Congrats!!

Mine are teenagers now and I can not even imagine going more than a day or so without them! Very happy you stuck with it to get the back in your life!!! For you and for them!! Enjoy the benefits fo your efforts!!

[Stralya]

I couldn't give up on them..

I suppose it's nature's way, I just couldn't forget about them even though the odds were stacked against me ever seeing them again. My daughter even kissed me when I dropped them off at home. (NO, I didn't cart them around on Swifty!) It's all still a bit surreal but no doubt in the fullness of time the idea will lose it's novelty and we can get to some sort of normality. I invited my son on a three day camping weekend coming up in July. It's a 'blokes only' thing organised by the Lager Appreciation Society. He's keen to come. When I mentioned this to my daughter, she told me she wanted to come along as well. So now I have to make overtures to the committee in an effort to bend their rigid gender rules but in light of recent events I'm sure they'll accommodate me. My son even wants to come with me when I visit my Dad up north in early August.

I just had to wait for them both to grow up and see the reality of our situation. I didn't even try to go down the 'anti mum' road, didn't try to rebut anything they may have been told about me by their mother. All I did was stay positive and show them who their father is (which was a bit difficult given my only contact with them was through facebook and myspace).

Once the seed was sown it took just over a year to bear fruit. If there are any other estranged Dad's out there who are having the same sort of torture I endured for over a decade all I can say is stay as positive as you can and never ever give up hope.

I'm no agony aunt but if any of you want to bend my ear about your own situation then feel free, after all a problem shared is a problem halved.

Dan
Agony Uncle.

[CatatonicBug]

My 10 y/o kid got drug off to Texas, a 12-hour drive away from me. I get to see him on a set schedule that includes a stretch in the summer (just started yesterday! ) It's really hard to have him go off and become more like my ex sometimes, but what would be worse is if I knew he didn't want to see me. I can tell there is a bit of initial discomfort with each visit, but after a few days, everything is good. I can't imagine what you have gone through, and I'm kinda teary myself just typing this, thinking about it. Don't try to rebut anything tehy may have been told, unless they ask you about it. Give them a chance to form their own new opinions about you, and just be there for them. That's what everyone needs anyway.

Good luck, and I'm glad you've managed to hold out this long. My church has a phrase we use, called "enduring to the end", and it seems that you've managed to do that quite well. Keep it up, and you'll be blessed even more.

[latexeses]

Awesome story...Wow..

[lakecountrydave]

Congrats!