Ok, to bring you up to speed, my Ex left on July 14, 2008, and the kids and I were getting accustomed to the new summer schedule with me as a single father of 5 children. Things were going very well during the summer, and all the kids were thriving on the consistent lifestyle I was providing them. But alas, school was about to start for 4 of the kids. What was I to do??
Where I was living at the time was in the opposite direction of where the kids were supposed to go to school and where I worked, so I knew this was going to be a dilemma. I decided to take a chance and go before the school board and tell them about my children's mother abandoning them. I was hoping that in hearing my story, they would decide to allow my kids to go to the school they needed to go to. This was important because this school was right up the road from my shop and would allow the kids to ride the bus to my shop after school. It was worth a shot, right?
Well, it paid off. I walked in the door of the main school system building and talked to the secretary in the front. She was asking questions about why I was there and who I needed to talk to. By the time I got done telling her my story, I was in the office of the head honcho of the school board. WOW!!! Talk about cutting to the chase! I explained my situation again. He said that normally a hearing would be set up with the rest of the school board to determine if what I was asking for was in the school's best interest. However, he bypassed ALL that red tape and made the decision for everyone. He said that the kids can go to the school right up the road from where I was working. WHAT?? How can this be so easy? That school was literally less than a mile from my shop. Talk about the hand of God being on that situation. So, with that, four of my kids would be going to that school, and my youngest had to stay with me since he wasn't old enough for school yet. All I had to do was drop them of at school in the morning and then the bus would drop them off at my shop after school. Amazing!! This was such great news for me. Everything was really falling into place for me to be a single dad.
The first day of school was an experience in itself. I never had to worry about how much work it took to get kids ready for school. Getting them up and showered, feeding them breakfast, and making lunches...Never mind the homework I had to help with later on. I give kudos to all the moms that do that on a daily basis. You have an extremely hard job. So, to all the single moms out there too (even my Ex), my hat is off to you!
So I brought all 4 of them to their first day of school. I was working (my youngest was with me) doing what needed to be done. Then it was time for the school bus to drop them off at my shop. As I stood watching, Child #1 got off the bus followed by Child #2 and Child #3. The next thing I knew, the bus closed its doors and drove off. Um, where is Child #4? Uh oh!! I asked the others if Child #4 was on the bus, and they all said that she was. Ok, what do I do now? I thought for a minute and decided to call the school. I told them who I was and that I had 4 kids going to school there. They knew exactly who I was. I guess there was a lot of talk about what had happened with the kid's mom and what she had done. I told them that my other 3 kids were with me, but Child #4 did not get off the bus. I explained that my other kids said that Child #4 was on the bus with them but they didn't know why she didn't get off the bus. They told me that they would call the bus driver and see what was going on. Fifteen minutes went by and I finally got a call. The reason she didn't get off the bus was because she fell asleep and missed the stop. HAHAHA!! The school is only like 3 minutes away!! I guess she got worn out on that first day. That was an early day for me at work since I had to go pick her up and explain to all of them that they had to pay attention on the school bus and make sure they got off the bus at my shop, and that the older ones needed to look out for the younger ones and help them. That wore me out in itself.
So, life went on. I had a very consistent schedule set up for them. They knew each and every day what was going to happen, from getting up in the morning and getting dressed and eating breakfast to getting off the bus at my shop after school. When they would get off the bus, they would come inside my shop and put their things away. I hung hooks on the wall with their names above them for them to hang their coats and backpacks. While I finished my workday, they would do their homework. It was a very busy time for me, but it was a good busy because everything worked like a finely tuned machine.
After work, I would take them all home and would check over homework and sign any papers that needed to be signed, etc. Dinnertime would come and I would come up with something. I will admit I am not a great cook, so this was perhaps one of my biggest challenges. I had a good friend that came over a few times and cooked dinner for the kids, and my oldest was a great help as well because he loves to cook and is really good on the grill as well. We always made it work, but it wasn't easy.
After dinner and some downtime, it would be time for bed. I always had them in bed by 8:00 at the latest. The next day, rinse and repeat.
They were thriving and doing really great on this schedule. Like I said before, they knew what the routine was each and every day so there were no surprises. I think that consistency is key in raising children, and without it you get into trouble fast.
I did begin to realize after a little while that I was going to need some help, though. Having my 3-year-old at work with me all day long was making it difficult to get my work done, and once the kids all arrived after school, it became even harder. It was also difficult for me to keep up with everything at the house...and meals (haha). So I did begin to think about exploring options, be it a babysitter or nanny or something along those lines, but I had not made a concrete decision yet.
Things were going really well. Mind you, there was very little contact with my Ex at this time, with her not even really communicating with her kids, much less seeing them, so imagine my surprise to get a knock at my door one evening to find a police officer there to serve me with a restraining order!
Yet another life changing experience that will be in the next installment. I promise!
My oh my, we still have tons of ground to cover before I even get anywhere close to the present. I really hope you all keep reading and taking this journey with me!
Until next time.
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