I can't believe I'm actually posting this, but it looks as though the starry-eyed, dickmatized Ann might really be a thing of the past. She's really been reconsidering this relationship in light of Hottie getting FT custody of that beast he calls his daughter.

Apparently, Hottie and BM will be going to court in August to get custody in writing. Hottie wants to keep Mary FT because she needs "consistent parenting." From who? HE certainly doesn't parent.

Ann came into my office this morning, shut the door, and started bawling. I mean, full-on sobbing. She's really been giving her relationship with Tom a lot of thought, and isn't sure she wants to deal with all the BS.

Her biggest concern (surprise, surprise) is Chris. When she and Tom had talked about moving in together previously, it was when Tom had 50/50 of both kids. )Ann has Chris FT). That would give Chris some time with no other kids around, some time with just her. Now that Mary's there all the time, she doesn't think she wants to put Chris in that situation, where he never gets a break from her. Though they do get along nicely and play together fine some of the time, other times she's a complete little bitch to him. If they're living together, he never gets a break from her. Chris is the kind of kid who will retreat into himself, hide in his room, and become depressed when stressed out. (Recall his suicidal statements made not too long ago.)

Ann also doesn't think she could handle Mary FT. She said to me this morning, "In small doses, I can deal with it. She's tough, but I know there's an end in sight. If I'm dealing with her s$#@ 24/7, I'm afraid of what I'll do." She's afraid she'll go off on Mary and become the hated evil SM, or that Tom will start defending his precious poopsie and resent Ann. Ann's worried that she'll resent them both, and so will Chris.

And let's face it- Hottie does NOT parent. He sits back and lets Mary push and push and push, until he finally explodes. Take the car ride to the ice cream place the other day. The boys both told her to keep her feet to herself. Ann told her to keep her feet to herself. Tom said nothing until he finally screamed, "Keep your f*&%ing feet to yourself!" So, who's going to parent this kid, since neither of her parents will? We all know the answer.

Ann is finally starting to see that this kid is emotionally damaged. She's in therapy, but it's not helping. She lies and manipulates like a 16-year-old. And she's TEN. Just turned ten. What happens when she starts accusing Ann or Chris of abuse? She saw how much attention being sexually abused by her great-uncle got her, and Mary is the kind of kid who needs any kind of attention at all times, whether good or bad.

"I can't fix them, and it's not my responsibility to." When Ann said that, I was SO proud of her. She GETS it. Now, what to do about it?

Moving in together is definitely not in the cards. She and Tom live in neighboring school districts. Chris attended a private school, and Ann enrolled him in public school in the fall. In HER school district. Good.

I just want to shout to the four corners of the earth- RUN, BITCH!! RUN!!

This is NOT a good situation, and if I can save one fellow woman from going through the hell that we've all been through, then good. I want to do that. She's ahead of the game in that regard. Most of us were love-blind until it was too late. Again, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ann actually has a chance.