Two Steps Back

My lawyer wrote me on Thursday to say that my ex hadn't responded to my Offer to Settle and that we would have to prepare for court. He wants me to "Prepare in point form your concerns about any changes to custody and access arrangements." I'm sitting here mulling that over. What do I respond to, I wonder, my ex's Case Conference Brief or the volley of Settlement Offers that have been in the air since June? I'm confused and my lawyer doesn't clarify.

Meanwhile, in response for my request that my ex return my daughter's water bottle and supply her with it for her school day (as required by the program) I got this reply: "Futher to your email below, A's school, like every other public school, supplies plenty of water for anyone on premises [sic]. What they don't supply, and arenot responsible for, are individual ice packs for A's lunch box during a mid-summer heat wave. That should have been your responsibility. But you failed. So we supplied an ice pack and told you abotu itin a non-confrotation manner last week." There's more, but it is more of the same drivel . . . what is with this guy?

I can't possible co-parent with him because he's impossible and my sweet girl is caught in the middle. What I can't understand is how our system allows idiots like this complete access to children and through them the means to torment their mothers.

Can I honestly say I want what I proposed in my Settlement Offer? No. I don't want it. I was trying to settle. So do I go back to all of my concerns about sharing my daughter equal time with my ex? I suppose so. That will take a while . . .

E thinks it doesn't make sense to address anything but how far we've come. I want to dig in my heels and give my honest answer. It will be hard, but I have to do it, even if it takes me back to a place I wish I never had to be.