A Little Help and Changes

Couldn't really come up with a good subject line for this one. I am swallowing my pride on this one and doing something that I would normally not do.

Here is the deal: when I left Christina and filed for divorce I was trying very hard to get time with Courtney, my daughter. In the process, things happened and Christina and I decided that we would work things out but go ahead and finish the divorce. So, being a stupid man I signed what she put in front of me thinking she actually loved me still and wanted to be together. Boy was I wrong. I ended up with only 28 hours every other weekend. She promised me I would see Courtney more than that and could pretty much see her whenever I wanted to. Well, that is another woman in my life that did me wrong. She is back to following the parenting plan very strictly. I was not able to make it home for Father's Day and this past weekend she would not let me see her one minute past the time. If she would have had a heart, I would have been able to see her more. My parents are always willing to bring her to Clarksville to see me, but 28 hours is not really enough time with a total driving time over 8 hours and then you figure in sleep. That is too mean to Courtney to make her ride all that way just to wake up the next and do it again. That does not include this past weekend when my dad's sister, her daughter and two kids were in town. I was lucky enough to have Courtney for my 28 hours. She had a blast with Carter and Connor, who are her age. She wanted to do so much with them, but there was only time for one thing like always. Courtney was upset and even called her mom and begged to stay longer only to be told no by her mother. We had plans to attend Dixie Stampede and her mom would not let her stay a couple extra hours to go with us. There are so many other examples I could share, but you get the point that I miss Courtney and Courtney misses me and her mom does not care. I have a hard enough time geting to talk to Courtney.

With all this said, I went to an attorney for some help. I spent a long time on the phone on Thur trying to find a lawyer in Sevierville after I got a letter last week with a court date where I go back and fight for more time. The attorney could almost guarantee me more time than I have now. I do not even get vacation time with Courtney. Her mom gets to take her anywhere any time she wants I cannot get a week for a vacation with my daughter. With Tessa, aka Freedom from on here before, leaving me and taking a lot of my money, I am hurting for cash to afford the $2000 that the attorney wants to take the case. The only lawyers that I could find that would take payments were too busy or I was warned against using them by others. My family is trying to help me with money, but they are not made of money either. I am struggling trying to figure out how to come up with the money in the week or so. I am not trying to get a handout.

On another note, as of 6Jul I will not longer be married to the one that has caused me more pain than you can imagine. I am glad that is going to be over with soon. I hear so many stories about her now that she is gone. She has even moved back to Clarksville to live with her boyfriend.

I started a new job today with the Public Affairs Office at Fort Campbell as the Tourist NCO. That means I set up and conduct tours on post. I should get to meet a lot of interesting people and have a lot of fun in this job.

I have had a lot friends and family that have really been there for me during this rough time. They have listened to me talk and whine for hours at a time and offered a helping hand when I really needed it.

Once again, thank you to all that are following our blog and I am sorry that I have not been on here very much. Please continue to pray for us as we try to find a way to get more time with Courtney. She is my precious little angel and I cannot wait until I see her next time.

SGT John Strader