So like many in South Florida, hurricane season is causing much stress in our daily lives. This one is particularly vexing me.
My ex and I are both in the medical profession, each at a different hospital (luckily). But, since hospitals never close, we both have to choose to either work during the hurricane or relieve those who did, after the all clear is called. Even before we were divorced, one would always do "during" and the other would do "after". We would tag team watching the kids. Now we that are divorced and share custody, it is particularly difficult to coordinate who is where and when. I called her today to start the process of deciding of who would have the kids. My only concern is their safety. She tells me she is an "after" person, and that her job wants everyone (both "during" and "after" people) to be there before lock-down (when the winds are too strong to safely drive around). I am scheduled for "during" the storm and was planning on also being at my job before lock-down. Her parents live nearby on the shore and will surely be evacuated from their home if the storm rolls in.
As I said, my only concern is for my children's safety, and my house is the safest of the three.
Before I knew what I was saying, I invited her parents and my ex (and her dog) to stay at my house to ride the storm out. I figured that her parents can stay with the kids while we both have to report to work.
But, what if her parents can't get back to their home after the evacuation? What if my ex has to stay at my house because she doesn't have power. Her parents HATE the dog. Honestly, I'm not fond of the dog either. It reminds me of my ex because we got it soon after getting married.
We will all be staying in the same house just like we did for every other pre-divorce hurricane.
I can only imagine the thick stench of awkwardness filling the air.
I hope to HELL, that Ike misses us by a few hundred miles......