04.22.09 - 1:09 pm

the morning court proceeding on monday was both hectic and relieving. i had left a message with my attorney on sunday morning, another phone call monday morning at 8 am, and an email asking for when i was supposed to be at the washington county courtroom.

i got a call around 9:15. collin was headed into the courtroom and had misinterpreted my email asking for the time for wanting to know what to expect. he thought he had sent me the time as well as the date in a correspondence. unfortunately, all i could find was a letter with the date. awesomely enough, my appointment with the judge was at 9:30 am. i was in portland. the washington country courtroom was in hillsboro.

forty minutes away.

he said not to worry, hed take care of it, but i should head out there. and so i did.

i got into hillsboro at 10:15. the proceeding had just finished and collin was headed to conciliation services to schedule an evaluator. thats where i met him to go over what i missed.

first, our court date for the real deal: october 13th. it all ends there. in theory.

second, no one showed up from sarahs side. no sarah. no dusty. her attorney hadnt even appeared. the court had to call her and speak with her over the phone.

nice.

we had two motions on tap: motion for parenting time evaluation and a motion for custody evaluation. naturally, they objected to the custody evaluation. i dont think the objection means anything though. so next up was to get the evaluator. the court system is set up both inefficiently and inconveniently. first, the cost of the evaluator was $500. typically the party who motioned for the evaluation pays the fee, but the court disperses that cost between the two parties. however, until the full $500 is paid, your name isnt added to the queue.

there were 8 people already waiting ahead of me for an evaluator.

so if i put $250 down, we wouldnt get even on the list until sarah paid her half. knowing her, she wouldnt pay. she would stall. she would make excuses. she would do it to punish me.

so i paid the full $500 using my inheritance money. im now number nine on the queue.

so now, i construct my case. i need to organize all the information i have into themes. themes that repeat themselves over the course of my five year battle with sarah over ashton. themes that can be supported by friends family and most importantly independent parties like teachers, etc.

im hoping this part will be easy. im hoping that what i have will be indisputable and damaging. im hoping that the court will not side with the mother just because she has a uterus. im hoping this will all end in my favor in six months.