The Hot Pepper

They are.

feminism.

Yeah, in my tech endeavors there's a big push for making space for women - but nobody wants to talk about Family Law if you bring it up.

I have literally been sick since we separated over this. My wife has our daughter and she is staying with her mother, an old man hating druggy who wants nothing more than to screw me over. I may not have had the biggest part in our daughter's life being my wife was a stay at home mother while I was the breadwinner, so I know that will be used against me.

But the home she is living in now is a cesspool of drinking and drugs. To set the scene for ya, my mother in law talked my wife out of her pain pills the day she came home from the hospital after having a cesarian. She also refused to allow my parents and nieces to see my daughter after she was born while I was working. This same woman who took my wife's pain pills (and eats her husbands like they were M&M's) also drinkings heavily on a daily basis and drives around drunk with her...

I have filed restraining orders against her violent 25 year old son as well who lives at home. An even bigger druggy than his mother and one who is prone to extreme violence not only towards humans, but animals as well. Multiple DUIs as well. He brings his scummy druggy buddies over on a regular basis and get high in the household. Everyone fights constantly and it is always in front of the children.

We won't even go into my wife's scummy friends (with mile lond records) and new fwb that she brings home nightly.

I may not be father of the year, but I am an honest and hard worker. I don't do drugs, I live in a stable household surrounded by decent folks who likewise are straight edge and would be able to help raise our daughter. My mother, a charge nurse for almost 30 years and very well respected in the community, my sister, a CNA and mother of two adopted girls and her two, very well raised daughter.

I fear for not only my daughter's safety, but her ability to grow up to be a well adjusted individual and not follow in the footsteps of the rest of her family on her mother's side. I am meeting with an attorney on Monday, whom I am hoping is a son of gun, to discuss this. But I still feel like due to the status quo that the odds are still stacked tremendously in her favor despite, what I believe, to have the ability to provide a better quality of life.

Even with full custody, I would never deny her mother or her family from being as much a part of her life as they wanted, provided they get their act together and saw her when they were sober and act in a civil matter.

Sorry, I had to vent. It had been bothering me in the worst possible way.

Yeah, tough situation, but also common. Judges usually see through the crap, also, so don't get too down in advance ...

I am trying to keep my hopes up, but man, what a PITA! The biggest thing is I just want my daughter to be happy and safe, regardless of who has custody. I wish my soon to be ex wife was willing to work with me on this, but she is out for blood.