Separating Parents and Children 

My dog started going nutters this morning around the bushes by my front step. I figured there were possums back there because I heard hissing. Then when we went to cut back the bushes in order to find them and relocate them, we heard mewling kittens and a very pissed off mother. We called animal control and they came to get them but the mother ran off. The kittens were about a week old, 2 black ones and 2 orange ones. Their little eyes weren't even open yet. They are going to set a humane trap for the mother cat so they can hopefully catch her and reunite her with the kittens. Otherwise they will bottle feed them and try to adopt them out.

The whole thing has me in tears. My biggest fear in our divorce was that I would be separated from my daughter. It wasn't a rational fear because I had done nothing to jeopardize having custody of her, but still, it was the worst possible thing I could imagine. So every time I think of that cat coming back and her kittens missing, I feel kind of ill.

Divorce is horrible. Being separated from your kids because of divorce is worse. I feel bad for my ex that he doesn't get that. He didn't even come visit our daughter last month and now he is saying maybe he will come the end of this month. He has never made any attempt to live closer to her. He says he wants her for vacations and summer, but he makes it so unpleasant when she is there that she won't agree to go.

When we were going through our custody stuff, in a way it made it easier to get over all the crappy things he had done because they paled in comparison to the thought of losing my daughter. For all of you parents going through custody issues now and missing your kids, I feel for you. I wish there were a way to sever the adult relationship without having to live apart from your children.

I hope that cat comes back and we can put their little family back together again.