I marrried an idiot

And then divorced him a short 5 1/2 years later after he left me to date men.

good times good times

So the ex is gay and that's lots of fun

He's also an idiot, and I'm not sure if he got dumber after we divorced or I wore rose colored glasses while we were married because seriously?

Maybe a little back ground is in order before I vent the latest issue with him.

He grew up in Really Really Small Town (RRST) we lived there after we were married and I even stayed there after we split. He took off for Bigger town closeish by. Almost his entire family live in RRST, I'm talking brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins. In a town of 1000 people, that's a lot of family.

I moved from Really Really Small Town back to my home town with my mom while I built my current house in Better Small Town (yes I am biased) 30 minutes from RRST. This whole time I work in Middle Small Town where everyone knows everyone and everyone talks and the Ex moved back to Middle Small Town.

Middle Small Town and Really Really Small Town are close enough they are the same schools and the same school District and for years and years and years, Middle Small Town and Better Small Town have had a huge rivalry.

Confused yet? I'll make a point soon

Enter the Princess, she started Kindergarten while I was living with my mom, and for ease of transportation she went to school in Middle Small Town (I could drop her off on my way to work, she could ride the bus to daycare etc.)

Kindergarten was Hell. Let me just tell you. I almost lost my job, she was in counseling, we had a rough year. I know it was all the moving and all the changes and everything, not necessarily the school or the teacher (we loved her teacher). BUT it was bad

First Grade we were in our new house (that I built thank you very much!) and she had an incredible teacher (who oddly enough is from Middle Small Town and graduated from High school with the Ex)
We loved her, we loved school! We also payed a ton of money for her to go to daycare after school (different daycare, whole other issue)

Now we are all up to speed right?

The Princess started second grade yesterday (holy crap!) and I have been trying to figure out where she can go after school so I don't have to start chopping off limbs to pay for daycare. I asked The Ex to help me figure something out. His only solution was to bring her back to Middle Small Town for school.

Because his family is close by.

Um what? just because his family might be 20 minutes closer to one school than the other does not in any way, guarantee they would help! We moved a birthday party so it would be closer for them to come and not a single one showed up! not even his mother! what makes him think they would help after school?

Better small Town is closer for my family! and guess what! they show up to help. My Mom watches them one day a  week, and is willing to drive where ever. My sister is picking the princess up and watching baby girl when she doesn't have to work. Guess what, they would do it no matter where they were in school, because they did it when she was at Middle Small Town.

Should we seriously put her in a school she hates, with none of her friends, further from her home on the off chance his family might one day decide they care enough to help out?

I love his family, really it was a big pro when deciding to marry him (should have been a red flag that his family had to weigh in on that decision right?)
BUT, they are only involved when its convenient for them. His father, their only grandfather, has only been to our house once. And that was the day we brought Princess home from the hospital. And for 5 years we lived around the corner from them, literally.

His Mother is around more, she helps me out with the kids when she can, and I really appreciate it. But I can't help but be upset that more than once she has been the only family to show up to an event for the kids when they are all invited, and more than once, even she hasn't been there (a 6th birthday fiasco, that's a whole new post too).

I honestly think it the whole school rivalry thing that is causing issues. Seriously? Isn't that a stupid reason to uproot a child's education.

What I cannot get through his thick skull is shouldn't we be more concerned where is best for our child regardless of the school colors?

Oh yeah, the rose colored glasses are so off.