Feedback pleeeeease!

Okay, hate to dish the dirt but I'd love to know what objective people think here. If you read this regularly, then you know I'm a stepmother; C has two kids from his first marriage. Two nights a week, they come over for dinner. Usually, they go home after dinner but every now and then C's son Harry, aged 10, sleeps over. The kids sleep over every other weekend. Now that Katie's 15, she rarely sleeps over, preferring her own room to a fold-out couch in our living room.

Last night, Harry attended a function with a friend that ended around 8pm so C simply took him home. He hung out there for a bit, then came home around 10pm. He often leaves before his ex-wife comes home and last night was not unusual. I've been pretty sick and I think he was anxious to get home and see how things were here. He feels Katie can handle things until their mother comes home.

However, around 1am this morning, C's phone rang. It was Harry who'd woken up sick, thrown up a few times and went into his mother's room to find her not there. Repeated phones calls were unanswered. C was half asleep and called her, also receiving no answer. He probably should have headed over there but he didn't.

Okay, so the mother got home around 2am. Tuesday night, a single mother who couldn't be reached by phone gets home at 2am. C had not arranged for Harry to sleep over.

Go ahead and blast C all you want but I'm really curious as to the opinions on this issue. Divorced, but your kids still live with you--do you stay out until 2am when you know the kids will be sleeping in your home and their father has a job and his own home to return to? I'd love to say this is not a common occurrance here but unfortunately, I think this is the first time one of the kids got up and noticed Mom was still not home.

Comments

[Patty]

I'd be tempted to fight for custody over this - especially if she was expected to be home. How many nights is she gone when the kids are home and not with C? Poor Harry, that just breaks my heart.

[Paula]

Nice! Totally not cool on Mom's part. I'm not blaming C at all, he did the right thing. What kind of a mom does that? And then you are not available by phone??? Yeah, I wonder too how often does she do this?

[Patti Justice]

C needs to shake her up by telling her he's filing for custody and starting the procedings tomorrow. This, I'm afraid, is probably not the first time it has happened. A 15 year old is capable of handling a babysitting job for a 10 year old but not until 2am. Obviously she is more important to herself than her children are right now.

[Vycki]

C's actions are not in question at this point. Had the ex-wife not surfaced an hour after he was made aware of the situation who knows what he may or may not have done. But you're absolutely right about the mother. Now I suppose its possible that she assumed that Harry would stay with C, but its still a bad assumtion on her part. But if that were the case then Katie should have at least been made aware of her mother's whearabouts since there was no reason to assume that SHE wouldn't be home. And it absouletly does not excuse her not answering her phone. Nope, I think its fair to go ahead and set up the stake so that we can burn her on it. Poor Harry, hope he's feeling better.