5/12/15
Being a single Father, it is always a task to find play friends for my son. My network is not large and doesn't really include friends with children around my son's age. I have been to several play times with other Mothers, but friendships were hard to build and none really turned into more than a one time deal. The same for Father's that I met and had play times with, it seems that it is just plain hard building lasting play groups with parents that are pre-occupied. The one place that has been great for interaction for my child has been church.
I understand you would need to have some kind of spiritual grounding for attending church or at least the want for some spiritual grounding. Still, church does provide a good opportunity to get a minute away while your child can enjoy fun activities with other children around their age. Many churches have fun activities and teach many different things to children including biblical stories. My child has always enjoyed it and I have found that he actually learns in those environments.
Recently, I have found that church is also a good place to find possible babysitters. I have been in need of responsible people in case of emergency and the church provides an opportunity to find some people willing to help. The help my family has received from different churches is tremendous and many times when I needed it the most.
Beyond help with interaction for your children, churches provide other types of extra support. Often churches, do different donation drives and volunteer activities to help those in the community. Local churches are important in helping families provide in many different ways including food, clothes and toys.
The church has helped me on occasion and I understand it is difficult for some to accept help, but in some cases it might be needed. My hope with this post was to provide the answer of going to a church if you are a single parent in need for you or your child in any way. I am sure you can find a church that will accept you and help you get the support you need.
Oregon Dads need a site that can provide lots of information and tools for their success in parenting. I will be using this blog to give lots of information for all parents, but a I focus on trying to help Dads all over Oregon. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me: oregondadsconnection@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
A Custody Battle: The Third and Fourth Time Mediating
1/14/15
I never intended this blog to cover my case as detailed as I have been, but I am hoping it does help others realize they are not alone in their struggles. Also, I hope to provide insight to the whole process and the different feelings, situations, outcomes, details and other important stuff that pertains to different custody cases, in the effort to try and help others. At this point my lawyer has rejected the other lawyers claims with a dismissal and we have been ordered to mediation. This is actually the fourth time I am going to mediation, but the courts might only know about three times because the other party walked away from the bargaining table before there was any real agreement to take back to the judge on one of the occasions.
Before this time of mediation, I was instructed that I needed to attend the C.O.P.E. class at the YMCA again which cost $60 every time you take it and I have now found out is required more than once for many people. Also, court mediation orientation was also scheduled again to watch videos that I have already seen. Both C.O.P.E. class and the mediation orientation videos are very outdated in my opinion since they appear to be made in the 1980's or 1990's which I am surprised with all the ease at which they could make a new video or probably obtain new material. Certainly with the changes to families, certain things are good to mention and are not being mentioned in those videos, like the use of cell phones or emails as communication between parents and children.
This time around the other parent was not at the mediation orientation which I questioned and was told sometimes there separate times given. I was advised to contact the mediator within 3 days which I did. The mediation began and ended quickly with the other parent not wanting to fully negotiate and making the same requests for what was rejected with the lawyer's dismissal.
Close to Christmas, I find out the other the other parent's lawyer is stating the other parent doesn't need to go to mediation orientation which I don't think is going to fly with the judge. Since then, the other parent has been instructed to go to a new appointment for oreintation due to missing the first appointment. Basically, if one parent goes, you need to go too. Both parents need to show they can follow rules and it helps in knowing they both had the same information presented to them to help move the case along in a balanced format.
I never intended this blog to cover my case as detailed as I have been, but I am hoping it does help others realize they are not alone in their struggles. Also, I hope to provide insight to the whole process and the different feelings, situations, outcomes, details and other important stuff that pertains to different custody cases, in the effort to try and help others. At this point my lawyer has rejected the other lawyers claims with a dismissal and we have been ordered to mediation. This is actually the fourth time I am going to mediation, but the courts might only know about three times because the other party walked away from the bargaining table before there was any real agreement to take back to the judge on one of the occasions.
Before this time of mediation, I was instructed that I needed to attend the C.O.P.E. class at the YMCA again which cost $60 every time you take it and I have now found out is required more than once for many people. Also, court mediation orientation was also scheduled again to watch videos that I have already seen. Both C.O.P.E. class and the mediation orientation videos are very outdated in my opinion since they appear to be made in the 1980's or 1990's which I am surprised with all the ease at which they could make a new video or probably obtain new material. Certainly with the changes to families, certain things are good to mention and are not being mentioned in those videos, like the use of cell phones or emails as communication between parents and children.
This time around the other parent was not at the mediation orientation which I questioned and was told sometimes there separate times given. I was advised to contact the mediator within 3 days which I did. The mediation began and ended quickly with the other parent not wanting to fully negotiate and making the same requests for what was rejected with the lawyer's dismissal.
Close to Christmas, I find out the other the other parent's lawyer is stating the other parent doesn't need to go to mediation orientation which I don't think is going to fly with the judge. Since then, the other parent has been instructed to go to a new appointment for oreintation due to missing the first appointment. Basically, if one parent goes, you need to go too. Both parents need to show they can follow rules and it helps in knowing they both had the same information presented to them to help move the case along in a balanced format.
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