I'm recently divorced (as of November 26th), and I'm thankful to say it didnt end in tragedy. My ex wife and I had been at each other's throats for two years since our separation in 2017. We have a son together, and I tried to be a good dad, but she would create bullshit reasons to keep my son from me. I never fought her. I just let her keep him, hoping to work enough to eventually get custody. It was a long shot, but I the hope kept me going. I developed bad stress headaches, chronic neck pain, and lack of sleep (5 hours or less a night). This went on for the last year and a half. Finally, about 8 months ago, I filed for divorce.

I achieved a victory in the divorce case when the judge ordered us to go to mediation. I wasnt sure if she would agree to my terms (50/50 custody, reduction in child support, and all expenses split evenly). Surprisingly, she signed off on all the terms, but tried to guilt me into changing them. When I didnt budge, she signed the mediation report.

Fast forward another month and a half to the final hearing. After that long, she'd reconsidered on the terms, and wanted the judge to throw away the mediation report. The judge got pissed and said there was no reason to change what had already been signed. My ex wife got angry and got into a back and forth with the judge, who got pissed and gave me everything I wanted. I didnt lose custody of my son, the child support is getting reduced, and I didn't lose any of my property. I didnt have to hire a lawyer, and I didnt spend an absurd amount of money. I spent Wednesday with my son, and enjoyed part of Thanksgiving with him. I finally enjoyed a good nights sleep with no headache or neck pain, and I slept 7 hours.

I dont want to come across as a braggart, but I wanted to share with others that sometimes life can give us a break. I was unemployed for a while, struggling to sell cans at a junk yard, but I found a job, paid for my divorce, got everything I wanted, and didnt lose my savings or have to pay alimony. I'm preparing to go back to school for drafting technology, and eventually mechanical engineering. I'm going my own way, and I wanted to thank all of you because your posts and experiences have gotten me through the stress.