My Story - Part 3

This post is a tough one for me because this was the time in my life where I was really mad at Maya's Mom and Step-Dad. I didn't understand why they made the decisions that they did. In fact, I hated them for the decisions they made. But because I now know that forgiveness is a process and I have struggled with this for years, I won't rehash many of the details. However, I will continue my story...

I was pregnant, hormonal, and needy; and Dave didn't know how to support me. Heck, he didn't know how to support himself. Our honeymoon period was quickly over and reality had really sunk in. My dark time had begun.

During the summer of 2007, I watched the man I loved torn away from the apple of his eye...
He tried to call Maya, but was told he couldn't talk to her...
He tried emailing, but was told he couldn't see her...
He tried old-fashioned snail mail, but I'm pretty sure Maya never got any of it...

When I had spare time, I would read and re-read the documents Dave had submitted with his custody motion. Reading the police reports and other court documents that described what Maya's home life was like was awful...I would look at the dates mentioned in police reports and compared them with our family calendar. It sickened me. It made me feel helpless.

It was a very powerless feeling for all of us: Dave, me, Dave's parents, extended family, everyone. There was nothing we could say to Maya's Mom and Step-Dad that would change their minds. Well...there was that one thing...they wanted Dave to drop his custody motion in exchange for being able to visit Maya again. Dave and I both agreed that was not an option for us. We knew we had to take two steps back in order to make any forward motion. It wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one. Doing the right thing is rarely easy.

Eventually we got a court date in the right court. (I'll talk more about the "right court" in another post.) When the long awaited day finally arrived we waited anxiously to be called in to the court room. As we sat in the waiting area with family and close friends, we were tense. We waited and waited, but Maya's Mom never showed up. Eventually they called us into the court room and we waited. Finally the Judge's Clerk tried calling Maya's Mom, but there was no answer. We found out later that she was in the hospital and had given birth the day before.

Crap! What were we supposed to do? Sit and wait for a few more months before we could get a new court date and let more time pass before we could see Maya?

The Judge (bless her heart!) decided to schedule a phone conference for the following week. Dave and I finally felt a little bit of hope! In that phone call, the Judge ordered that Dave be able to see and talk to Maya!!!

It was a start, but we still had a long road ahead of us...