Christmas of 2003!! The year of the epic "breakup" July 2003 of GG and the Behemoth. PAS was in full bloom! GG sobbed for two solid weeks after the breakup. . .supposedly over the skids. . .I have my doubts.

As a dutiful, doormat SM, I played "coat holder" and lagged behind the "first family" at the overheated mall. Never did I get an invite to join the group Santa picture. Just three skids, Oldest, Brainiac at the time 7, making whacky faces for the camera, VD at the time 5 looking miserable and Prince Hygiene at the time almost two upset over the looks of Santa. And in the background, GG looking miserable over the "loss" of his children and his first Christmas NOT under the roof of his darling "angels."

Those were the early years, where I went along with everything GG said and did. Figuring he knew how to parent children. Which every day showed me a little more that he nor the Behemoth knew how to parent and he was becoming a bigger Guilty Daddy every day as a kneejerk reaction to the Behemoth's PAS.

Eight years ago was a big red flag that I ignored. Why was I not included? Oh that's right, a stepmom's role is to step OUT of the picture, figuratively and literally in this case.

Other red flags were that I was purposely excluded from Easter, Halloween and Birthday events. . . except of course to FUND them. The biggest red flag was when GG moved in with me with nothing more than the shirt on his back, he sent ALL his pay to the Behemoth and paid me not a dime for six months.

An omen of things to come (I say wistfully reflecting)