Court tomorrow (exactly 1 week from Christmas). The idea of doing battle in court used to stress me .. since so much is at stake .. and lawyers whip me with their legal jiu-jitsu and years of experience.
But I've been there so many times now that it no longer phases me .. at least not the way it once did.
Sure, I still do my best .. to present my case and tell my side. I'll take a shower, shave, dress nice, even wear a tie. But I've come to realize (over the years) that judges have an idea how they're going to rule before you even say a word. (At least in my case, as they've likely already seen it all before.)
If the judge likes you, and sympathizes with your position, you can say nothing wrong. If not, your most elegant argument goes nowhere (in a hurry). So altho the stakes are high, it does little good to stress.
Stilll, it's not a very pleasant feeling to have so much of your life in the hands of another. Goes against all my training.
••• today's entry continues here below •••
Even the very idea of going to court implies failure .. that you were incapable of working out your differences yourself .. so now you need somebody (in a black robe) to make your decisions for you. It's like having your mommy settle your battles for you. (Embarrassing as hell.) So it starts on a bad note and just gets wor$e.
Ever seen one of those rats on a wheel? I'm on a wheel that is biased against dads. For more along these lines, here's a Google search preconfigured for the query » family law court child custody disputes
Been raining like crazy here last few days. And cold. Flooding everywhere. Southern California is not made to handle large amounts of rainfall.
Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade starts today (the 100th annual), altho I can't imagine many venturing out in this horrible weather.
