Tuesday, Chil Exhange Policy

My son is 10 years old.

I got myself into a lot of trouble when I was 18. I am now 32.

Because of the trouble I was in when I was younger, my probation was revoked 10 years ago and I had to turn my son over to my former in-laws. The boy's father had no interest in taking care of him.

I have been fighting my ex-in-laws for my son for the last seven years. During that time he has been bounced around from one ex-in-law to the other.

I was under the impression that I would get my son returned to me after I had satisfied the sentence I received after my probation was revoked.

I have started school to obtain a doctorate in psychology. I have a 4.0 [GPA] and recently purchased a four-bedroom home.

I have changed dramatically from the way I use to be. My ex-mother-in-law, whom I have not had contact with for about seven years, does not want to look at what I have done to better my life.

I want to know if you can give me any ideas to express my thoughts to her.

I do not know what else I can do that would show her how much my life and my circumstances have changed.

I like that you think getting a child back is like returning something back to Target. It's quite a process. You have to pay for the shit you did, no matter how many "Grape Job!" scratch and sniff stickers you get on your psychology papers. If I were to go back and claim every girl that I broke up with just because I thought we were ready to give it a second go round, that doesn't mean they would want to see me again. (The flip side: I would be elbow deep in vag and would no longer be able to do this blog.)

And let's be honest. This lil' ragamuffin has been bounced around to every family member that had a futon in a crawl space. Do you know how fucked up he is already? He will just get into trouble and cause you stress. So, my advice is, concentrate on your new life where everything is A+. Don't feel bad about your former son. Remember Jessie from Free Willy? That kid bounced around several orphanages and landed feet first as Michael Madsen being his dad, and his best friend is a fucking killer whale. What a life! We should all be so lucky.