Rejoice with me!

My friends:

God has visited me, again.

You all know how much I have fought for the joint custody of my daughter Sofía.
Last July 17 of 2009 I went court again, and although the judge did not grant me joint custody, he added another overnight a week to the one that I already have, what makes the current parenting schedule a de facto joint custody arrangement. From next week on, Sofía will have dinner with me on Tuesdays and go to her mom’s house afterward, and on Thursdays, I will pick her up at school and will bring her to her mom’s house on Saturday night.

The judge also awarded me vacation time, which I did not had until today (now I can visit my family in Puerto Rico), and at my request, the judge set a schedule to start disclosing to Sofía the fact that she is adopted, an issue that really worried me.

I want to point out two things that should be remarked. First, that during the hearing, both my attorney and the judge acknowledged the major advancements of fathers’ rights in recent years. Although it is true that these changes have not come at the speed that we would like them to come, they are coming, and in sustained and clear pace.

Second, that persistence and faith pay. If I had given up, as many people, including friends, had told me to do, this victory would never have happened. It was my faith in God and my will to fight what gave me the strength an the vision to keep on insisting on the rights of my child and my rights as a father.

So, God has smiled at me and life is good.

Vidal