Travel plans
Desiree:
You said the reason you wanted to change Gabriel's return flight from January 7, 2012 to January 8, 2012 was because the flight was $50 cheaper. I asked Gabriel if he was okay with that and he said he'd much rather return on Saturday night. I also was not keen on having him return the day before school, after being off for three weeks. Nevertheless, I agreed to the change in order to be accommodating and to help you out. That change added an extra day to his Phoenix trip. The change also adversely affected me (and Gabriel) because it would not allow any time for Gabriel to transition back into his normal routine here before starting school.
When I first agreed to this trip I agreed to one week. From December 31, 2011 to January 7, 2012. You asked if we could make it December 30, 2011 because the 31st is New Years eve and you would be driving (presumably you wanted to be home in time for some New Year's celebration). Gabriel explicitly stated he DID NOT want to go to Phoenix this break. Again, I accommodated your request, even though Gabriel didn't want to. This request also added another day to the trip, putting it at 9 days.
So, this morning I was quite dismayed to find the confirmation from Southwest in my inbox, saying that you purchased Gabriel a ticket for this evening. Clearly you are not going to come and pick him up so there is no longer a conflict with your New Years eve plans. Also, it would seem that the $50 you were trying to save on the return flight was not as much of a concern as you expressed.
Since you have seen fit to make last minute changes (which, again, convenience you while inconveniencing me and Gabriel), I have, likewise, taken the liberty of reverting to the original plan of Gabriel going there for 7 days rather than 9. I have rescheduled his flight for Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 5:55pm. This new flight has no additional cost to you and it does not conflict with any New Year's celebrations so I cannot think of any reasonable argument against it. If you can think of any please let me know.
Finally, if you are going to ask me for favors (in the way of changing visitation plans), which result in Gabriel spending more time with you (and thereby, less time with me) so as to save you money and/or accommodate your social schedule you can at least have the decency to stick to the modified plans that I was gracious enough to agree to.
Fox
P.S. I have more productive things to do with my time than to spend 45 minutes changing sudden, last minute travel itineraries and typing explanatory emails to you. In the future please try to refrain from asking me to be accommodating or for any favors. The visitation schedule has been written and I think we should adhere to it from this point on.
And I figured you would be which is why I tried calling to talk to you. I did not expect to have the money to get him a ticket out here. I cannot change the date of the returning flight now - I already tried considering how you would feel about it. I debated just driving anyway, but that's a 6 hour road trip for him unnecessarily and we would not get in to Phoenix until very late. Given the short amount of time I have him this vacation schedule, I'm not sure that it will mess him up too bad if he returns early Sunday morning vs. Saturday night. Again - all travel after this will be better planned, better organized and set up ahead of time. Please forgive the last minute changes, as they were unexpected for me as well, but were made with Gabriel and you in mind. This will not turn into a pattern. I can also write another letter and sign it - I considered that too. I did think the emailed itinerary would suffice to show documentation.
Now - I will pay the additional $50 for the minor charge, but it has to be done at the gate. I can transfer $50 into someone's account, send it through western union, you can have the ticket agent call to get my card number...what method would you prefer?
I plan to call Broad Avenue school soon to get the dates for spring vacation so I can set up the round-trip flights based on yours and his preference.
Again - I apologize for this last minute stuff and this will not be repeated.
I suppose I should have finished reading your message. I don't care that you changed the return flight - that's fine. But January 1st is on Saturday and would mean he was only here for 2 days, so I'm a little confused when he goes back.
Desiree:
January 1, 2012 is actually Sunday (not Saturday). January 8, 2012 is seven days later (not 2). Please let me know which part of this is confusing.
Desiree:
I just attempted to call you back but got your voice mail. So, I'll just send you this email instead.
The only thing I can say is that I am baffled that you would try to say this was a one-time thing and that you'll be better prepared for the Spring Break. Desiree, in the 12 years I've known you this has been your milieu. Since you've been back in mine and Gabriel's lives you've changed plans at the last minute countless times. What you ultimately end up doing as almost always based on a spur-of-the-moment decision even though you may have had plans in place for weeks. If you disagree I can send you a list of times this kind of stuff has happened. Based on your history I have no doubt that Gabriel's next visit will be just as fubar'd as this one is turning out. Anyway, I am only concerned in as much as it affects me and Gabriel. I don't expect that you would ever consider that last minute changes affect other people (again, based on my history with you) but it does. Did I have any meetings or other plans today? Do I enjoy sitting in rush hour for an hour, then spending another hour sitting at the airport, only to spend another hour in rush hour traffic comming home? Not particularly.
With respect to the $50: travel arrangements are your responsibility. Last time it took me a month to get reimbursed from you. I'm pretty sure you can pay the fee in advance. Have you considered calling the airline? They're usually pretty accommodating when it comes to taking your money. In other words, no, I will not cover the costs up front.
And, finally, there is one more snag in your plan of flying Gabriel out there as an unaccompanied minor. Give me a call and we can discuss it. I never brought it up before because under the original plan, which we both agreed to, it was not an issue.
Okay, one more thing: I don't know what you're referring to in the first sentence of your response, [above] ("And I figured you would...").
Fox
Call me when you get back from the court. We will discuss