My Wife

Well let's see where to start about my wife. She is the best thing to ever happen to me. I never thought it possible to be soo in love with somebody, as I am with her, she is so amazing. I have never met anybody that makes me feel like I do when I'm with her. When I'm with her all I want to do is touch her and be near her. Whenever I'm home alone and she isn't here I feel lost and just wander around the house aimlessly. We just seem to fit together if you know what I mean. It's like we were meant for each other. When we are in each other's arms it's like there is nothing wrong in the world and all is right. She is truly the love of my life and the apple of my eye. We have been married for a little over 4 months and it seems like we have been together forever, not in a bad way but in a way like when you know it's supposed to be. I have always thought couples in love were supposed to feel this way. I have been in 2 relationships that never felt right and always left me feeling empty. Now that Jen and I are together I feel like the richest man in the world. I had a boss once that told me that he looked forward to going home to his wife each and every day and that there was no place he would rather be than with her. I remember feeling at the time a feeling of jealousy because I have never felt like that ever. Well now I have a woman that I want to be with 24/7 if I could. I just love feeling her lying in my arms or us just lying on the couch watching tv or walking hand in hand at the mall or the supermarket. She is truly my soulmate, best friend and true love. I love her with all my heart and soul. I do on one hand feel cheated that I wasted most of my life finding her but like she says we weren't ready for each other and we each had to endure our pasts to be where we are today. Did I mention that she is incredibly smart, funny, profound, pretty and well she just turns me on soo much. There is no place I want to be but with her and there is nobody else in the world I want to be with but her. Jen you are the love of my life and my best friend in the whole world I love you with all my heart.

Life in General

Well today as I sit here at my computer I am struck with some thoughts of my family in New Hampshire. A year ago I decided to follow my heart and come to Florida and spend the rest of my life with a wonderful woman who has taught me that true love does exist and loves me unconditionally. Of course that decision wasn't popular with all of my family. Initially my mom was all for the idea but as time grew closer it became a worse idea, my sister never liked the idea, my brother and brother in law were both for it and knew that I really needed to make this move. Well it has been almost a year since I moved here and to this day I have had very little contact with my family at all. My mom isn't talking to me at all, in fact there have been no cards on the usual special occasions like birthday, Christmas, Father's day, etc. I did get gifts from my sister and brother. Recently I have sent her two letters explaining everything and telling her what really happened. It seems my ex told my mom I met Jen online which isn't true, but yet that is exactly where she met her new boyfriend. Well according to my sister my mom still misses me and loves me and wants me back in her life, however I have received no letters, cards or any correspondence whatsoever. I haven't even received and email from my sister. I did receive one from my brother and tried to talk to him about it but he says it's between my mom and I. All of this leaves me with a lot of doubting as to whether they actually love me or are just saying that because it's expected. Until I met Jen I never felt anybody truly loved me or gave a damn about me at all. So I don't know what to think.
I always thought families were supposed to stand behind you no matter what and love you no matter what and take your side over everybody. Well I guess that just isn't true in this case. I have never felt like I belonged with them , I have always felt like the outsider. Maybe it's because I have always thought on my own. I moved out when I was 18 and then joined the Navy at 21 and lived in Virginia until 2000. I moved back to NH in 2001 but it never felt like home even though I grew up there. When I visited Jen in June of last year and as we traveled around I felt like I was home, a feeling I haven't had in over 10 years.
Well it's been a few days since I started this post so let me see if I can capture my thoughts again. I was just doing the dishes and thinking about my family up in NH and some of the things that have been said over the past year. Well where to start let's see, they haven't actually acted friendly enough for Jen to feel comfortable and I already know what they will say when I bring this point up. They will say that they don't know her, but have they even tried ? No they haven't tried at all. I have prayed to God that he will help me fix this but I don't think that my Mom is really willing to make all this better. I was hoping that this could be resolved before my mom passes on but I fear she won't help resolve this at all. She is choosing to hold on to her hate and anger to the end. I keep being struck at how distant I have become from my family over the years even though I lived near them. Nothing I have ever done has really met with any real approval. We don't share the same views, and thoughts that most families share. In essence we are very different people. I'm not really sure that we will ever be truly over this as a family, as they choose to inject their feelings on a situation that really doesn't involve their feelings, other than to like or dislike Jen and Tristin. Out of all my family only my brother in law has truly supported me without any thought and for this I am thankful. I was hoping that my brother and sister would get fed up with my mom's behavior and set her straight but alas it isn't to be. Well only time will tell if they are truly willing to accept and move on past this and except two new exceptional, loving, smart members to the family.
On contrast to all of this is Jen's family. Her mom is very bitter about her own failed relationships and marriages and the circumstances surrounding Jen's separation and divorce from James. In reality her mom has no reason to accept me into the family without anger and malice but yet Jen's whole family and relatives have been nothing short of spectacular, accepting and loving of the whole situation. Especially where Tristin is concerned. They are very loving and have accepted me into the family with open arms. Jen's mom especially has taken me in and seems to love me(of course the oatmeal raisen cookies didn't hurt). She even introduces me as her son in law when she could very easily introduce me as either Keith or Jen's husband. I wish that my family could take a lesson from them and realize that they are being just plain ridiculous about all of this. Sometimes I just want to sit and cry but that would do no good at all and doesn't accomplish much. But alas it's not like I haven't been down this road before. Something very similar happened with my ex wife, after we got married I didn't speak to my family for almost 3 years and even when we did start talking it wasn't much.
I am soooo tired of hearing how much they really care for me and wish me the best and all the other crap and yet I haven't received one single email, letter, card or any other correspondence. So it all really makes me wonder WTF. So as I sit and write this post I am struck at how mysterious God moves and how close to the vest he keeps his plan for each of us. I look back at how Jen and I met and how our relationship has evolved and prospered. We each come from different backgrounds and not to mention different walks of life but here we are. Did God see that Jen needed a loving, devoted husband and Tristin needed a loving dad or was it that he saw what I had become and was about to become and decided that I needed a change and a loving family to save me from drinking and myself destruction? Or was it all of that? Only he knows for sure, and he doesn't tell. I do know that Jen has restored my faith in love and marriage, a faith that was ripped away from me and crushed before my very eyes. Being married to Jen has reminded me of what is truly important in life and what isn't. One day Tristin asked me how much money makes one rich, I replied to him that you don't need money to be rich. Rich is what you make of it. I told him that I had a loving wife (his mom) a loving son (him) and we were all healthy and we were a family then we had riches that are beyond the grasp of many people. I thank God everyday for bringing Jen and Tristin into my life and providing me with an oppurtunity to be the loving husband and dad that I have always wanted to be. I love them with all my heart and soul. They are truly my life and world.

Father's Day

Well today is Fathers day and for the first time ever I actually feel like a father. I got divorced when my kids were small, my son was 8 and my daughter was 5. Even then my then wife never did things for me on Father's day, never really got any cards or gifts or any of the other traditional things you would expect on Father's day. Over the years they never sent me anything for Father's Day, Birthday, or any other holiday. As their mom has always wanted me out of their lives. Well later on I moved in with Tracy and her 4 kids and we were together for 10 years and even they didn't really treat me as their dad. No Father's Day cards or gifts or even wish me a happy Father's Day. Just before we split Tracy told me that the reason she never got me anything for Father's Day was because she didn't know what to get me. Well shit all you had to do was look around the house and you could get ideas everywhere. For instance in the living room I had my collection of over 500 DVD s. She could have gotten me a gift card to a movie store, I love guns and reloading as gift card to my favorite online gun supply store, or even a Cabelas one or one to Walmart . In all my life I have never had a significant other (girlfriend or wife) that has made me feel loved as Jen does. Even though this year money is a little tight and I have to wait for my gift it has been by far the most satisfying Father's Day I have ever had. Tristin my step son (even though he is more my son than my own) as adopted me as his dad. If you read my earlier post then you will know why. Both Jen and Tristin sent me a Father's Day card online, even Jen's mom and her husband Ralph wished me a happy Father's Day. Like I said earlier I have to say that this has been the best Father's Day ever. Not because of cards, gifts or anything material like that. It's all because I am for the first time treated as a Dad and not just as a guy or wallet as I have been in the past. Jen and Tristin I love you guys more than anything in the world and thank you for accepting me into your lives and letting me be not only a husband to you Jen but also a Dad to Tristin since his own father just chooses to ignore him. Here's to many more happy days and memories together.

Saturday

Well today is Saturday and we are all just sitting around watching TV as family. Life doesn't get any better than this. To have a loving wife who is truly in love with you and loves you as much as you love her and isn't afraid to show it. Plus her son as adopted me as his dad as his real doesn't want anything to do with him. As each day goes by I thank god that he made our paths cross. A year ago I would have never thought it possible that I would be here and have such a loving wife. There are times when you know things are right, well here are some examples. Before Jen I would wake up every night around 2am and stay up until 4 am or so and then go back to bed for a couple of hours then off to work. Now I sleep through the night every night. Once at work I would feel relaxed and love being at work. Now all I want to do is finish my day and hurry home. Another sign was I would eat Rolaids like they were candy. I would go through a large bottle in about a week. Plus when I got home I would have 4 or 5 drinks and we're not talking about wimpy drinks it would be scotch or DiSarono. It would take me about a couple of days to finish of a fifth. Now I hardly drink at all and I really have no desire to drink at all.
When I first moved here to Florida with Jen it felt like I had always lived here. Of course I didn't know my way around but thanks to Tom Tom that is getting easier. When Jen and I first got together there was no awkwardness that you get when you meet somebody new. It was like we had always been together. Jen is the first person that I have been with that seems to "fit" with me. Whenever we are apart it feels like a part of me is missing and I don't feel "whole" again until I get home to her and Tristin. There are no words to describe how much I love Jen. She is unlike anybody I have ever known. Whenever I'm home alone I feel lost and just sort of wander the house until she gets home. Hell unless she is in the bed with me I can't sleep, I have never had trouble sleeping in bed alone before. She is my whole world and universe.

A new day

Well today is a new day, a day to be proud of my wife. In case you don't know it she is a school teacher. A pretty amazing one at that. Well the ruling is just in and her school was graded an A by the county and a B by the state plus her school made Annual Yearly Progress or AYP, I am so proud of her. She is a great teacher and mentor to her kids there. She just attended a class on using the smartboard in her classroom and she is working on some lessons to utilize it's full potential. She is the greatest in the world.

My Wife

Jennifer right now you are sleeping and I'm glad as you need your rest. I love you more than you could possibly know. You are my whole world and universe. You give my life purpose that it lacked before. We talked about a lot of stuff last night and I still get the feeling that you don't believe me. The only things I think about are you, Tristin, and our life together. You keep thinking that you aren't good enough for anybody. Well I'm not good enough for you. I am trying my best to be the husband and father you want for you and Tristin. However I feel like I am falling short. I have never loved anybody as much as I love you. There isn't a second that goes by that I don't think about you and our life together. I told you last night that the happiest times I have ever had were with you and you find that hard to believe. Well it's very true. You are my world and universe. I wish I could do more for you and us. I would tell you to be patient and my support will be lowered and I will get promoted but you have waited and been patient long enough. Patience and waiting isn't something that I'm good at. I want us to be a happy couple and love each other more in 20 years that we do now (though I don't think we could love each other more but I fall deeper in love with you every day.). I am hoping that someday we can put all this behind us and be the happy family that we have both longed for our entire lives. You are my best friend, soulmate, and true love, not to mention my freckle mate and bug bunny/mushy french fry mate. :) Jennifer I love you with all my heart and soul.

Well another day is upon us. I'm having a lot of feelings about my past. I wish that I could bury the past forever but it just seems to keep haunting me. I have an exwife that insists that when we have talked in the past it was never about money and she keeps telling me and everybody that she doesn't need my money but yet what is she calling for? Yup you guessed it MONEY. Now matter how much she gets it isn't enough. Currently she gets about 1200 per month. She makes about 55k per year. I only make about 24k per year and I only bring home about 400 per month.
Now let's look at Jen who makes about 22oo per month and we have to scrimp and make do just so Tristin can have a somewhat normal life and his dad who proclaims his love for him can't even be bothered to call or write, let alone pay child support or send any money for him because it would go to Jen and god forbid money go to Jen so that she could get Tristin things he needs. However he has no problems with Mona's kids and having a good time with them. Boy he sure looks like he is suffering. The child support system is so fucked up that you wouldn't believe it. One time she calls and gets told that they are seeking legal action against him in the form of a warrant and then she gets and IDO in the mail along with a child support check. Cool right you would think that the system is working right? Wrong she calls in the other day gets somebody different and got a whole other story about how the IDO was cancelled because the State's attorney issued a new one and to call back a couple of days after her support is due. So she calls back and gets now a whole new story and pretty much the IDO from the state's attorney's office pretty much isn't worth the paper is printed on and she will have to wait 30 days because that's how long it takes per their guidelines and then they will send out a late notice. Then he tells her that one maybe one reason is because he doesn't work at that employer anymore. So in essence he is intentionally not working just so he doesn't have to pay child support. So will anything happen to him? Probably not, he like many other deadbeats will just walk away scott free and go on and live their new life and then profess how much they love their kids and how much it hurts to think about them but yet they are living high off the hog while their kids suffer. The only thing that the kids have done in all of this is have a deadbeat for a father.
I don't know of any other options open to Jen, she/we don't have the money for an attorney. It seems the one agency created to cure this problem is absolutely worthless. James had intentionally left the state and is in fact in hiding just to avoid being found.The federal laws that are in place are just a joke and only punish the guys who pay their support and doesn't do squat to those that don't. So for all the stories I hear about how many states don't play around with support I only can say BULL you know what. IF you want see what a deadbeat looks like here you go.


Dead Beat Dad James E. Smith who lives somewhere in the Harvest Alabama area. Currently about $2600.oo behind in support and won't even email, call, or write to his son.