Not that anyone is asking

Lewkat said:
Well if what's going on at home with everyone making a fuss over the twins and ignoring him, no wonder Collin is grumpy. The CPS counselor had better step in and alert Tara and the father, that this boy needs some serious attention and loving. If not, trouble looms ahead big time. These children are so close in age, we'd call them Irish triplets. He's building up a heap of resentment and he's too young for this nonsense.
Click to expand...
They look like triplets, seriously. One of the twins is a girl but only her eyes look different from the 2 boys. Big, round, and light blue. The boys eyes are intense and steel-grey in color.
 

Kathleen’s Place said:
Yup...poor kid. If it weren’t for you, I’d say he probably doesn’t have a chance in hell in this life. Bad enough that he has two questionable parents...and by that I mean questionable as to how long will they stay clean. Hopefully forever but... And will they tire of both Collin and the twins when they get older, start talking back, and require more of them as far as the right kind of discipline and love goes? Nobody has a crystal ball, and as much as I pray for best, the odds are not in Collin’s favor. Was he born addicted?? The part that stood out to me was his building his lego’s, or whatever, and then destroying his creation. That just sounds...sad. And throwing his toys. I mean all kids do this sometimes, but not consistently, I don’t think. Maybe he was testing you to see of you would still love him no matter what. Boy, Murmmer...I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes, but I’m 10O% glad that YOU are...if that makes sense. I couldn’t handle the pain of what you are going through. If I was the full time parent I could, but not the way you have to deal with it. I think my BP just jumped through the roof regarding the laws, or lack thereof in this country. Children, thousands upon thousands, have absolutely no rights or protection from the evils in this world. There is no, none, zilch, reason why Collin or the twins should have been given back to the parents until they were worthy of the responsibility again. Whew! Sorry. But it angers me right down to my soul. And I will also apologize for being so long winded. I simply do not know how to cap
Click to expand...
Collin was born positive for meth but if he was born addicted I wasn't told. I think probably he was because he cried a lot as an infant and had night-fright type behavior and did some self-soothing stuff (still does) but not anything alarming. Mostly he likes to handle this soft but highly textured blanket when he's upset and when he gets sleepy. I sent it home with him. His mom said he quit using it...but who knows?
 
Kathleen’s Place said:
Yup...poor kid. If it weren’t for you, I’d say he probably doesn’t have a chance in hell in this life. Bad enough that he has two questionable parents...and by that I mean questionable as to how long will they stay clean. Hopefully forever but... And will they tire of both Collin and the twins when they get older, start talking back, and require more of them as far as the right kind of discipline and love goes? Nobody has a crystal ball, and as much as I pray for best, the odds are not in Collin’s favor. Was he born addicted?? The part that stood out to me was his building his lego’s, or whatever, and then destroying his creation. That just sounds...sad. And throwing his toys. I mean all kids do this sometimes, but not consistently, I don’t think. Maybe he was testing you to see of you would still love him no matter what. Boy, Murmmer...I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes, but I’m 10O% glad that YOU are...if that makes sense. I couldn’t handle the pain of what you are going through. If I was the full time parent I could, but not the way you have to deal with it. I think my BP just jumped through the roof regarding the laws, or lack thereof in this country. Children, thousands upon thousands, have absolutely no rights or protection from the evils in this world. There is no, none, zilch, reason why Collin or the twins should have been given back to the parents until they were worthy of the responsibility again. Whew! Sorry. But it angers me right down to my soul. And I will also apologize for being so long winded. I simply do not know how to cap
Click to expand...
My brother says the same thing. He won't be the man he could have been if he'd stayed but I can only hope he doesn't become the man I have nightmares about - heavily tattooed angry punk who drops out of school, won't get a job, hates life and doesn't give a crap about himself or anyone.
 

Murrmurr said:
My 10 year old granddaughter makes me laugh. I asked her why she wears her socks inside out and she said it's because that seam across the toe hurts her. I said "Oh, so you're like The Princess and the Pea." She said "Okay, that was really uncalled-for. And gross."

I don't think she's ever heard of The Princess and the Pea...not Pee.
Click to expand...
I presume you are going to buy her the book 😀
 
Murrmurr said:
Ariel, my granddaughter, sleeps on the sofa bed in the living room when she stays over. The Christmas tree is in there. She knows I put a lot of thought into decorating the tree.

Last night while I was sleeping she rearranged all the ornaments. It looks like utter chaos.
Click to expand...
She probably thought she was helping Grandpa.
 
officerripley said:
Ariel sounds like a great little gal and I also think she's got a wonderful grandpa! :)
Click to expand...
Her looks are deceiving; she's pretty, tall, and graceful looking, almost ethereal. But Ariel is no cupcake. Argues like an attorney and has a quick, stinging wit. She's joy to have around if you don't mind blunt honesty.
(and thank you, officer)
 
Ariel spent the night last night. This morning she asked why the inside of the toilet bowl looks “all scratched up” and I said it’s probably because, just before I moved in, instead of replacing the toilet, maintenance cleaned it with harsh chemicals. She asked how I knew and I told her I learned it when I worked as a plumber’s assistant.

her (always skeptical): But I thought you were a truck driver.
me: Well, yeah, that was after I was a plumber’s assistant and before I was a tree-trimmer.
her: Wow, so you’re like a Barbie.
me: 😳
her: You know, because you’ve had like a million different jobs.

btw, did Ken not work?
 
So I made friends with Collin's grandma (I'll call her Jackie) very soon after I got him and she still stays in touch. Jackie called me a couple days ago after visiting Tara and the kids, Collin and his younger twin siblings, and here's what she saw:

Collin sat on the couch all day moping. He wouldn't smile and he curled up in a ball when she tried to talk to him. He was told to go play and he yelled NO! He yells at his mom and he kicks and slaps her when she tries to schmooze with him. Tara told Jackie that he just sits on the couch like that all the time and he isn't eating - over the past 3 days Tara got him to eat one banana.

When Jackie told me this I said "He's depressed!" and she said yes, that's what she told Tara but Tara said "No, he has only child syndrome." I don't know if he's seeing a therapist... Well, he wouldn't be *seeing* one, except on Zoom ...but maybe he is and that's where Tara picked up that term. He was an only child when he lived with me, but technically I'm not sure OCS would apply here. Even if it does, Collin is depressed and I think he needs counseling and not over Zoom. How the hell can Zoom be effective with a 2 1/2 year old?

Tara didn't bring Collin over last weekend and this weekend is Christmas so she won't be bringing him over this weekend either. And maybe she won't ever because of how he's acting. And if it just depresses him to go back home then maybe she shouldn't bring him here, idk. I can't be calling or texting Tara all the time, or even often. She could tell CPS I'm harassing her. I can only hope she contacts me and then I can ask about him. I will text her a Merry Christmas message today or tomorrow and include "Hope the kids are in cheerful spirits" or something like that, and hope she'll come back with something more than "Merry Christmas to you too."

Most of all I hope she brings Collin to visit over the weekends like she was doing till 2 weeks ago, and I hope that's not bad for him. Maybe this is the only place he feels loved and encouraged and it's the best thing for him.
 
A week ago, Collin's grandma, Jackie, brought over some Christmas presents for Collin and the twins because she invited them all to her house for Christmas but they said they were going to stay home, so she came over all upset and crying and saying “You’ll probably see them before I do, so give them these. Oh, yeah, would you mind wrapping them?" She said she just couldn't even deal with it. Well I did mind, but I wrapped them and put em under my tree.

Last Friday, Christmas Eve, I get a call from her while she’s cooking turkey, asking me could I please, please bring the presents to her house because Tara and the kids and their father were going to be there in about 3 hours. So I guess she heard Tara say she wasn’t going there on Christmas day but she missed the part where she said they’d be there Christmas Eve.

I had my own plans but I chose to not let Collin and the twins down and I took the presents – wrapped and ribboned – over to Jackie’s 30 farking miles outa my way and got to my son’s house just as It’s a Wonderful Life was gall-dern ending.

When I got to Jackie's, Tara and all them were already there. It was my intention to leave the presents at the door because I have no idea where those people go and who they talk to or if they mask and all that, plus I didn't want Collin to see me. But Collin happened to be looking out the front window and saw me and started screaming “Daddy!” and pounding his little hands on the glass, and my chest felt like it suddenly filled with lava and my stomach churned. And that's when Jackie opened the door.

I can’t even describe the look on Collin’s face when he stepped out with his arms up to me, other than it looked like pleading, like his eyes were begging “Take me home!” By that time Jackie was gathering up the presents and Tara came to the door, so I asked her if I could just talk to Collin for a few minutes and she said “Of course” and then went inside. So I took Collin over to a chair on the front porch and he climbed up in my lap and squeezed my neck and cried really hard. And he talked while he cried but I couldn’t understand him because he was crying, but I clearly understood when he put his hand on his chest and said “Me?” with a question mark. Man, I almost farking lost it because it was like he was asking Don’t you want me? or Will you take me? or something to that effect. That’s what it felt like.

I did my best to explain that he belonged with his mom and his family and all that, and I kept reminding him that I love him very much and he’ll come to visit me sometimes, and I said all that directly into his ear because he was still crying really loud. And that’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced in my life, except leaving him there was way harder.

Tara text me this morning. She’s bringing Collin over tomorrow instead of waiting till the weekend (like she said she'd do that day on the porch) because he woke up this morning saying Uncka Pwank? Uncka Pwank? (at home he’s not allowed to call me Daddy). She’s gonna let him stay until Wednesday.

Post Script: turns out Jackie is ...ehh... pretty flaky.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top