Divorced Dad Story

Divorced Dad

Divorced dads have many stories. They range from quips about their buddies or detailed descriptions of their cars.  Every divorced dad has his own unique story.  A story about his life, his kids, his work, the Packers.  Anything.  A man’s story is HIS story.  It’s like his castle.  Let me tell you a story about a divorced dad I know whom we will call “Bob.”

Bob lived two floors below me in an apartment complex.  The first place I lived after I separated/divorced my wife.  I’d only see Bob occasionally; my job at the time kept me, a divorced dad, traveling continually.

One day Bob and I got into a conversation about our “divorced dads story.”  His story was really focused on his ex-wives, his kids, and how he felt about child support.

Bob was a bit older, his earlier forties, and had three separate children from three separate mothers, in two different states.  Each marriage had soured sooner or later, for many reasons, that become unimportant.  It boiled down to the fact that neither he nor his spouses were happy and it was time to move on.

Bob’s a great guy, he was always busy and he was also barely home.  I figured with all the work he seemed to be doing his weekends were filled with his kids.  The only problem was that I NEVER saw his kids with him on the weekends and I was ALWAYS home on the weekends.

He rarely got to see them.  His oldest was a young teenager and was a bit standoff-ish.  The middle one saw him maybe once a month and his youngest was in California.  He didn’t like not seeing his children, but without physical custody he felt impotent when it came to spending time with  his kids.  How did he deal with this?

The only way he knew.  He felt that the State was punishing him by making him pay so much in child support.  His answer was simple.  Work less, make less, pay less.   Bob worked three jobs; he worked as a maintenance guy at two apartment complexes (part time), bagged groceries (also part-time), and DJ’d on the weekends for cash-only.  The house he owned was in his mom’s name and his car was owned by his girlfriend.  By keeping his income low he paid less money to the state.  Bob is actually a very intelligent man who went to school for architecture and business administration.  I could see his logic but I couldn’t agree with it.

His divorced dad story is like many.  He felt wronged, he didn’t have control of his life and he wanted to take it out on the State.  Ultimately he took it out on his kids.  Child support is paid to support your children and the more you make the more you may be eligible to pay.  Trust me, I know.  Don’t be afraid to reach for more because you’ll provide more for your kids and also provide more for yourself.

Written by Jason - http://www.DivorcedDadsOnline.com