Apologies for the long post. The situation is very detailed, so I’m laying everything out clearly. Dealing with an exhausting custody situation involving my two daughters, their father, and a court-ordered exchange point. Both live in Texas, I lives in one city, he lives in another. Our exchange location is in FS, which is already a long drive for both parents, though i consistently end up doing most of the accommodating. The dad rarely uses his visitation consistently and almost never shows up for the exchanges himself. Instead, both of his parents always go together and handle the hand-offs for him. The issue this weekend is straightforward. I asked if they could meet earlier the sun sets at 5 pm, the road to FS is dark, winding, and unsafe after sunset, and the girls have school the next morning. If we meet at 5 pm, we will not get home until around 10 pm with two exhausted kids. I offered an extremely reasonable alternative. He could take them to school Monday morning, which would give him more time with the girls and avoid the late-night drive. He refused every option unless it was exactly what he wanted. He accused me of cutting into his time, even though he rarely uses the visitation time he already has. Meanwhile, me and my parents consistently do the long drives, maintain the girls routines, and ensure stability. He said the girls have shown up dirty or in clothes that do not fit, but ignored the fact that im the one who buys them new clothing, and the girls often return from his visits wearing those same items and smelly. I’ve asked him for some winter clothes for them, and nothing has been provided. As the conversation went on, he began ranting about child support, claiming that the $720 a month he pays for our two daughters is “free money”. He blamed his limited visitation on the child support being raised, complained about the job market claiming the oil is all dried up. I works full-time, raise the girls, and is the one ensuring every exchange actually happens. When he told me to “stay in your lane and I will stay in mine”, my reply was, “what lane? The unemployment lane? No thank you”. All I asked for was an earlier meet time so the girls would not have to be driven across unsafe roads in the dark before a school day during a freeze. He turned it into an argument about everything except the children, making it clear he is more focused on punishing me than prioritizing his daughter’s well-being.
NTA. Document everything. It may come in handy someday.
NTA for asking. Keep records of these exchanges and the fact that he is missing visitations. You may need to go back to court to adjust things.