Being this is my first blog, I guess an introduction is appropriate. I am the single mother of four children. Boo is 9, P'nut is 8, Duckie is 6, & Linus is 3. I am 29 and work about 35 hours a week at a job that pays minimum wage. I am trying to go back to college after putting it off for several years while I put one husband through 4 years of college and then taking time off to raise my kids alone. I do recieve Food Stamps and Medicaid. I've been turned down for other services because I make over $1000 a month (including my child support that I don't always get).
Boo, P'nut, and Duckie are the children I had with my ex-sperm donor first husband X. When we divorced I only had enough money to do the divorce and not to fight for custody or child support. For reasons I will not get into at this time, going after custody and child support seemed like a waste of time and money. Let's just say, I knew I would be granted custody and support but would never see any support.
Linus was the result of my marriage to my second sperm-donor husband Tony. After a bitter fight and a lot of me getting screwed by my shitty lawyer, I finally got custody and support.
So why am I starting this blog? I want a way to chronicle my fight with my ex's over child support and how the system sucks at helping parent's get their support. I also wanted a way to show my discuss not only with the court system when it comes to getting help, but also with the Department of Social Services and other organizations that are suppose to be out there to "assistance " people. Organizations notorious for telling people to have more children or to cut back their work hours or to all out quit their jobs in order to receive help.
I want other people who are having the same problems to post comments on here. I want to be able to print out our stories and send them to our elected officials and say hey "FIX THIS SHIT!" While they are out there giving themselves raises and do unscrupulous things with our tax payer money, we are sitting here trying to raise families.
Now, I'm not saying all parents who are ordered to pay support are bad, and I'm not trying to say that all custodial parents treat their ex's fairly. My boyfriend pays his support on time every time (since the divorce was filed they have taken it out of his check). Before they began to take it out of his check (when he and ex his wife were just separated) he would pay the car insurance on his wife's car and send money to pay the monthly fees on the child's extra-curricular activities (like soccer and cheer leading). He also sent money to repair the house or to buy this or that for the child whenever the ex would ask for it. Now that the divorce is final, he only gets visitation with the child once a year. He is suppose to be able to talk to the child on a regular bases, but 98% of the time when he calls, he gets no answer, no return phone call, or the child is doesn't speak for very long because she is "tired" (they call him back like after 9pm when the child is only 7).
I also understand that in this economy right now a lot of people are losing their jobs. I'm not here to complain about parent's who are broke and can't pay support or who are struggling to get by. If the parent is actually trying to work and pay their support (even if it isn't all the support, if they are sending as much as they can and aren't out there blowing all their money on bullshit) then I respect that. I'm talking about the assholes who work under the table so they don't have to report their income, parents who don't actively pursue work of any kind (just because you've got a college degree doesn't mean you can't flip burgers or bag groceries), parents who just don't give a shit!
So, for now I've got to get ready for work, fix lunch, and do some homework for my online college classes. Until then, if you read this and have a story to tell, please feel free. Moms and Dads are welcome!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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