You are saying that you are happy your children are being raised without a father, because he was dating?
One of the duties of a custodial parent, in a lot of the standard parenting agreements is to, "Exert every reasonable effort to maintain free access and unhampered contact between the children and the other parent" Now, that's not the exact wording in all of them, but the idea is written into almost every standard parenting plan.
Man, i wish more fathers would post on this forum, that clause is rediculous, there is no way that should have been allowed!
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1) he was "dating" while we were still married---and conducting those "dates" in the family home while I was at work, and the children were at school
2) he was "choosing" his dates from Craigslist, thus complete and utter strangers
3) his "dates" were mostly of the "blow and go" variety --and mostly men
My Ex, during our marriage, was an abusive and unpredictable bi-polar. The children were afraid of him. I *made* the children go visit their father(he was never physically abusive to them, just me)....up until the visit that their father's girlfriend got angry w/ the oldest child and shoved him hard enough that he stumbled backward and knocked a TV off of its stand. Since that visit? You bet I invoked the discretionary clause! And you know what else? My Ex, hasn't bothered to contact the children, doesn't acknowledge their birthdays, Christmas or any other holiday (no, not even a phone call). The Ex refuses to see the boys if they won't accept his now wife (yeah, the one that shoved a 13 y/o kid).
And I will probably get roasted by some of the senior members but: My boyfriend (we live together) is more of father to the kids, than my Ex ever was. He has taught, by example, how a gentleman behaves--not only to women but to society as a whole. He has taught, gently and patiently, the boys life skills that they will need to be productive and self-sufficient members of society. The boys refer to him as stepdad (even though we haven't gotten married).
I chose unwisely on who I married (the Ex), but, he is 1/2 of my children---without him, I wouldn't have my boys! I work pretty hard to remedy by poor decision by providing the boys with the best possible male role models.
So, while it may appear on the surface that I was/am just an angry woman, out to screw over the Ex---nothing is further from the truth. All I have done, and will continue to do, is make sure my children are safe, loved and raised in a healthy and happy environment!