As I write this, I’m only a few hours removed from returning my 6 ½ year old daughter (a.k.a. Pumper, the nickname I gave her when she was an infant) to her mother. You see, while I reside in Ohio, her mother and her live in Tennessee. They’ve been there for the past few years. It’s a tough situation. I get to see her during spring break, six weeks every summer, Labor Day (which usually coincides with my birthday), Thanksgiving and around Christmas time. And while those are times filled with laughter and fun, there always comes the inevitable trip back. If you’re dealing with this same situation, you know there’s only so much you can do. Sure, you can take your ex-wife back to court (been there), but the court system, at least in my state, leans heavily towards the mother. Personally, I don’t think that’s right, but who am I to say. I’m only a father that always tries to do his best to care, love and provide financially for his child.
As you know, I don’t post much personal stuff on here. I usually provide a year-in-review of sorts around my birthday (which is coming up on September 4th), in which I throw in a few tidbits of what’s on my mind. These normally only deal with writing in one way or another. However, there have been a few articles that have been published over the years that did delve into more of my personal life (you can check those out on the Published Works page). While some writers use their blogs for business & personal reasons, I’ve always tried to keep more to the business side of things. Now, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with putting your deepest thoughts and feelings out there, then in your next post advertise your new novel about the cute babysitter that gets raped and murdered, but that’s just not the way I brand myself.
Back to what I was saying…
The past six weeks were utterly wonderful. Not only did my new bride Sheryl and I get married on June 15th (in which Pumper was deemed the cutest flower girl ever!), but we got to spend a ton of quality time with the little one. We did all sorts of fun things, which if you follow me on Facebook, you probably saw all the “check ins” and photos.
They say a writer’s life isn’t easy. I totally agree with that. There are all sorts of trials and tribulations you have to go through on a daily basis. HOWEVER, not that, or anything else I could ever dream up, compares to being separated from your child.
That’s the toughest gig in the world.
As I write this, I think back to a conversation Pump and I had shortly after I picked her up. You see, she knows Daddy writes scary books. Daddy knows she loves Princesses (her room at our house is “The Princess Room”). So we came up with an idea to write a story together called, “The Zombie Princess”. It would have been for kids, obviously. We both would have written the story and she would have drawn the pictures (as best as a six year old can do anyway) to go along with the story. I think it would have been great. Unfortunately, out of all the fun stuff we did do this summer (which included seeing Daddy’s and her favorite baseball team — the Detroit Tigers), I totally forgot to sit down with her before she left and for us to write “The Zombie Princess” together.
But, I have a feeling, one day that idea will become a reality.
Until then…
Daddy loves you Pumper and I can’t wait to see you again.
Ty Schwamberger 