My Battle is 100% OVER

I’m going to jump straight to my good news: it’s over. It's really, really OVER.

It’s surreal to type those words.

My ex-husband’s parental rights were terminated today.

Yes. Terminated. Our ten-year nightmare is OVER.

That’s what matters. If you want the details, feel free to keepreading:

True to narcissistic fashion, the past few months have been a roller coaster. It should have been so easy. We stipulated to the termination and adoption last November. It became an official court order in February. Even though he had signed a termination agreement, an adoption agreement, and I was forgiving $102,000 that he owed in child support, he caused issues throughout the entire process. He even filed a malicious small claims lawsuit against my husband, Glenn. Complete retaliation. He could not go down quietly.  

As of last night, I did not think that today’s hearing would be going forward. At our last hearing, he was ordered to be present in court today. On Wednesday, he sent my attorney an email stating that he had lost yet another job and due to “financial constraints” he was not able to fly to California. This judge was so adamant that he had to be present in court that I was actually online last night, looking for plane tickets from Michigan to California. I was willing to put the $800 ticket on a credit card to ensure that today’s court date went forward. My attorney told us that we didn't even need to show up because she was convinced today would be a waste of time.

We had been told that without his presence, one of three things would likely happen:

1. The judge would dismiss the case.
2. The judge would continue the case.
3. Or, it would be set for trial.

I did NOT think the case would go forward, so I went in feeling tired, defeated and frustrated.   

When the judge came out, she was noticeably irritated that he had defied her orders to be there. He was however, present on “court call.” The judge indicated that we would go forward. I couldn’t believe it. I was sworn in and testified to the facts in the case and about the girls’ relationship with Glenn. I testified about my ex-husband's abandonment of the girls. Glenn was then sworn in and testified about his role in our lives and his relationship with the girls. “Seth” was then sworn in by phone and after his typical but expected verbal tirade blaming me for all of the issues, he acknowledged that he was in agreement with the termination and adoption.

The attorney asked Glenn about the girls academics and sports. She asked how the girls were doing in general. As soon as Glenn answered the question about sports and stated that they ran cross country, I cringed inside. Seth prides himself on running and triathlons. I immediately knew that Seth would take "genetic credit" for their achievements. Sure enough, he did. When he regained the stage, he said, "I'm happy to hear that the girls run cross country."

Testimony continued and the entire hearing took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Then, the judge terminated his rights.

We have been in family court since August 18, 2009. Tenyears, and twelve days of a broken system that I would not wish on anyone.

WE ARE FREE AT LAST.  OurBattle is OVER.