Looking up my past

 I spent the summer alone In San Jose and focused on the Olympics.  Mark Spitz was the champion of the summer, and I loved watching him.  We were often by the pool, and though my kids were 1 and 3, I had high hopes for them in the future.  I wondered about what my life would be now?

I could not imagine what the fall might bring, but I hoped to at least get temporary custody.  I did.  It helped that Sadiq said the United States had no jurisdiction and that Sadiq was living with another woman.  But the judge ordered home visits and psychological tests.  We bravely endured them, and Sadiq Insisted that he see the children, though no one thought it wise.  He had taken the kids back to Santa Barbara after the first visit, and my dad and I had to go to Goleta and the police station to get them back. While there, it was apparent that Sadiq was in a different married student housing section than before, and he was with Sandra.  So after that discovery, they were picked up at the police station nearby me so that my friends were not dependent on my resources.  No one wanted to be responsible for the kids safety.  The psycological evaluation was cruel and Sadiq  more or less said I was responsible because I didn’t take care of him properly.  Nevertheless, I was awarded full custody, with no overnights until the three weeks in the summer the next year.  I was a wreck, but relieved, because I quickly put 

\in place a no visa order for the kids, and I did my best to a male someone present when he picked them up.  It was the best I could do.  I had a two bedroom apartment in Berkeley, and I hoped that I would be finished soon with grad school, which meant two courses and passing French.

 

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