I was a good mom today.

finally, our day in court.

nobody wins in Family Court.

There’s a scene in Sister Wives¹ that’s always stood out to me.

Christine, the third wife, was at odds with her daughter’s dad. Her child needed life-changing surgery, but the father, Kody (who looks strikingly like my ex), resisted taking any action to help. Finally, Christine took matters into her own hands, found the funds, and secured a doctor to address the medical concern. Even then, the father still could not do the right thing for his kid.

Once her daughter’s surgery was finally over, Christine looked at the camera and said, “I was a good mom today.” I always thought it was a powerful moment.

Today was my time to say: I was a good mom today.

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Today, Friday the 13th, I finally appeared before a judge to seek the court’s help in getting my daughter’s father to recognize his financial responsibility to support her.

I wish I could say it went well, but the longer I’ve been involved in Family Law matters, the more I believe no one “wins” in these proceedings. We have been pursuing Emma’s independence since January 2023, and since June, I have been self-representing, which means learning a lot on the fly and making many mistakes along the way. I’d give myself a solid 70%.

This morning, opposing counsel accused me of being “vexatious and litigious,” two more adjectives to add to the list of descriptors hurled my way — I’ll file those under “tool of Satan” and “shit-disturber.” I guess she didn’t want to mention that her client has ignored inquiring about his child since February 2023, even after last week’s security incident at Hardy.

For now, we await the judge’s ruling. I am confident her father will be ordered to pay child support in the future, but I doubt we will receive compensation for the stress and costs it has taken to get him to be held responsible. Ultimately, no one will be fully satisfied with the ruling. I have no regrets.

My daughter knows I’m ready to stand up for her and make sure her story is heard in court. Her experience with her father has been recorded in the legal record, and no one can take away her desire to self-advocate.

Even so, now that we are (hopefully) at the end of our legal proceeding, it all feels a bit anticlimactic. I wish we had that Lifetime movie ending in court today.

But the world doesn’t always fit into a neat screenplay.

Nevertheless, she (both) will persist.

1. Season 19 starts this weekend!! My investment in terrible TV is finally paying off.