Venting and praying

So, I'm staying home today with a sick little Muffin. She came back from her dad's utterly exhausted with a raging cough, snotty nose, tangled hair and clothes that smell like smoke. Big surprise. Not only that, but he was over an hour late for the Muffin swap. Again. As I mentioned before, I'm not really sure if he's trying to show me some kind of disrespect or if he's just completely incompetent. I'm not even going to dwell on the behavior problems associated with her visits to his house because frankly, I don't feel like crying at 8:30 in the morning.

Needless to say, we're home today because Muffin needs to catch up on her rest and hopefully regain her sanity. I also have hopes that she will recover from this cold a little bit so she can sleep better at night. Maybe sleeping better at night will lead to better behavior at school and at home. One can only hope.

I really don't know how to address these problems with "himself." We don't have the best relationship, especially not after his wife "inappropriately disciplined" our daughter last summer. I'm trying to take the high road and be the better adult for Muffin's sake since it looks like we're stuck with him. It's just frustrating to present him with a tidy, healthy, well-behaved little girl and get a dirty, sick little monster back.

Ha ha - here's a funny one: He wants me to change her last name to his last name. Why? Because according to him "In America, the child has the father's last name." OK, well in the America I grew up in, the father actually provided for his child. But the fact remains that we were never married and there is no way on God's Green Earth I'll ever consent to changing her name.

I know, I'm sounding a little bitter this morning. I am very aware that our situation could be a lot worse and I'm very grateful. God help me find some way to confront him about the situation without turning it into an all out feud. God help me get through this day and God, please help Muffin get well. Amen.