The Budget of Paradox

Sophia, I think it’s amazing that your mother still thinks, after all these years, that she’s been completely neutral between you and me. When you were eight years old, you told me you couldn’t visit me because I would kidnap you and wouldn’t let you go back to Lynhcburg. Amazingly, at eight years old, you had the same concerns as your “neutral” mother and her scumbag lawyer. And even her scumbag lawyer wasn’t concerned about kidnapping until we disagreed about money.

So, let’s recap. I’ve never threatened to kidnap anyone. I never suggested it, ever, not even as a joke. Your mother even offered to let me take you out of the country, unsupervised, back in 2013. But as soon as I disagreed with her lawyer over money, then suddenly, her lawyer had the idea that I was a kidnapper. She also had the idea that I was an arsonist and I burned down Papa Bear’s house. Another lie, but at least I could prove the fire idea was a lie.

Anyway, by some miracle, despite your mother claiming to be totally neutral and not “brainwashing” my kids, you – at age eight – came up with the same theory, all on your own, that I wanted to kidnap you.

I’ve said this before: your mother and her lawyer need to keep changing their story to fit the facts. My story never changed. I love my kids and I would certainly never hurt them.

And while you’re reading that e-mail from your mom, I need to remind you that it’s not the job of a therapist to affirm anything. I know your mom is terribly insecure and needs external validation. But that’s not a therapist’s job. You see a therapist because there’s something wrong. I’m on the side of you that wants to aim up. Am I going to affirm whatever you think? No, it’s not up to me to affirm anything. You don’t get a casual pat on the back from a therapist for your pre-existing axiomatic conclusions. That’s not therapy; that’s a rubber stamp.

And I’ve seen the way your mom picks therapists: she shops around until she finds one who will agree with her. She and I had a marriage counselor named Dr. Carol Marsh. Ask your mom about her. We saw her a few times, but when she disagreed with your mom, we never went back to her again.

Your mom prefers “therapists” like Genevieve Whittemore. Ever met her? She’s not even a doctor, and she practices medicine without a license in her kitchen. I’m sure that’s the kind of “therapist” your mom is referring to in her rant. Every story has two sides, kid.