you definitely can be nice & still be a force to be reckoned with. i'd love to be able to talk to my ex about things that are worrying me & know that he'll think it through & come up with a solution with me BUT i've been down that road so many times that i know it won't do a damn bit of good. when we were going to court over visitation times/vacation times/etc... i was a complete basketcase. i've never been in trouble in my life so just walking into a damn courthouse freaked me the hell out. i was a nervous wreck the day i had to go for my uncontested divorce & my ex wasn't even there! i guess i'm 'old school' when it comes to police & judges - they scare the heck outta me.
when i tried to explain to the judge that my ex was driving my kids on a suspended license, he didn't care.
that's right...he didn't care!!
at that moment, my eyes to our court system were opened & i soon understood that being a good person, doing the right things, & trying to be the best parent meant NOTHING to the judge. everything i didn't want to happen...happened!
judge granted him a reduction in child support, gave him every bit of visitation he wanted (even though he missed visitations MANY times prior), & took the boys from me every other christmas morning. i was crushed - mentally & spritually. i was a wreck!! my new husband wanted to keep fighting for the medical bills (i'm the one who provides the insurance for them & he STILL pays me nothing) but it hurt my soul to the core.
i took a deep breath, decided to be the best mom i can be to the boys, realized that if i was going to have a decent life i'd have to let go of the idea of the 'perfect' life, & moved on.
i'm not saying you should give up the fight - take it as far as you can, kevin. fight the good fight. and in the end, whatever happens, you'll know that you did everything you could to make life better for your girls.