My middle daughter came for a short visit this past weekend.  It was wonderful.  She's an adult and we talked like adults.  She sees me as a woman and a mother now which I appreciate.  What I didn't know was that my ex husband has been trash talking about me for the past ten twelve years.  Oh well, that's a him problem.  I do feel sorry for him.  He's alone, angry and still drinking.  I think part of getting older is dealing with our issues because we all have issues, baggage that we brought with us as we grew up in our families.  He doesn't seem to want to deal with his issues and misses being a pilot, which was his whole persona.  Not my problem anymore.

My daughter got to visit with Jack and Miss Katie and did mention that those two are the best birth control ever.  We took the two of them to the mall and both Jack and Katie want all of your attention, they don't want to share.  It was a dog and pony show but we all survived and it reinforced my feeling that taking Katie out by myself is the way to go.

Charlie is getting better with recall.  My husband bought him a shock collar, which sounds awful, but we don't use the shock part, only the vibration.  It gets his attention and he does come when needed.  I have to be able to have recall with him.  He's a big dog and runs full tilt at other people and dogs, people and dogs who don't know that he's just happy and won't harm them.  The vibration catches his attention and I can get him back.  Makes walking much more enjoyable, and he's happy.

We saw the child psychologist on Friday and Jack starts with him in two weeks.  The main takeaway for me was that Jack needs a stable, secure home, something that Gracie cannot give him.  He did say he would provide us with letter for the court as well, stating this.

Tomorrow we meet with a lawyer who specializes in family law, so I guess that will help us.  What started out as a quick application to the court (in my mind anyway), looks like it will turn into a lengthy process.  As long as it protects Jack, I'm ok with that.  I've been going through text messages and dates from the past two years, writing it all down for the lawyer, a lot of shit has happened and as I reread everything, it brings up a lot of bad memories.

Today, Gracie gets out of rehab and will have a visit, supervised by her mother, with Jack.  Jack always gets worse when he spends time with his mom, so I have that to look forward to this evening.  Poor guy.  He's been through so much shit in his short life.  

So life continues on.  I have been reading some blogs, but not leaving many comments.  I'm kinda maxed out right now.  Thank you for your support.  It actually does make a difference and I appreciate it.