Zachary Prather born
Mirrissa Prather born
This website is dedicated to my two
children, Zachary Bryce Prather, and Mirrissa Lynn Prather in hopes that they
will grow up loving and healthy. And maybe one day they will be able to forgive
me for not being strong enough to be there for them. I think back to the oath I
made to myself when Stacy first became pregnant "The child will grow up
with a father". I know that I did
everything possible to be part of their lives.
But I also know that they will grow up without me and all I can do is
hope for the best.
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Some people think 'divorced /
separated fathers' equals 'every other weekend dads'. I strongly disagree. How
can you be "involved" when you aren't there when they do their home
work, when they watch TV, drive them to soccer practice, and other normal
everyday things? How can the kids learn by example when they only see you for
special occasions?
In Florida, the statues state
that "primary residential parent" should be the "parent who is
most likely to promote the child's relationship with the other
parent." With severe and
unrelenting visitation interference and parental alienation behavior from the
other parent, it was crucial that I gain "custody" in order for me to
continue to be involved with the kids after the separation. I strongly believed
that rotating custody can work for my kids and that would be the best way for
them to be keep both parents in their lives in a meaningful way. Especially since my ex and I have very
different values and rarely agree even on the most basic of parenting styles.
In the course of the custody battle,
I gathered all kinds of information about the kids and the other parent. I
studied anything and everything that could help me build a case to gain
"primary residential parent" designation for my kids. Unfortunately,
99% of the material it was never presented in court or anywhere else. Judge Frank Marriott dismissed it saying
"Don't bother me with the details." He also dismissed my petition for
primary residential parent saying that "most of all kids need stability
and their place is with the mother."
And since that day in court, I have
not been able to have any meaningful contact with my kids. Some people have
asked me why I think I failed my children.
What could be more clear than being absent from their lives? This
decision to step back from the kids' lives was an extremely painful one for me.
But I believe that it was the only course left available for the kids under the
circumstances. Click here and here for more details leading to my
decision.
Here, I have tried to organize the
voluminous amount of material I gathered the best I could.
Time Line is
organized my life with the kids by, well, timeline. Here I have a table that
lists all major events in my life with links that explain the situations
further. Between 2002 and 2003, the Time line describes general events in my
life as it relates to the kids. For 2004, the year of the custody battle, we
kept a close Journal
Documentation of the everyday
activities of the kids and Stacy for the whole year. It describes all the
The other parent and I went through
lengthy negotiations of Parenting Plans drafts for the children. My girlfriend
and I spent considerable amount of research in to developing a Comprehensive Parenting Plan for the kids.
We never had the forum to present it to anybody much less the other parent. But
it was our desperate attempt to protect the children from Parental Alienation
Syndrome (
There is also considerable
documentation in Q&A format, in attempt to prepare for trial and the Trial Questions taken from
ASPECT Parent Questionnaire. Also an Interrogatory
designed to reveal
Zachary
: Description, Interests, As a baby,
Mirrissa
: Description, Interests, As a baby,
Stacy: Interview
with Nikki. This woman is a mother
of 3 children and whom Stacy considered to be her best friend. She tells of
Stacy's daily routine and the Neglectful
side of Stacy.
In
the end my final
letter to Stacy.
The website is still in development and there is still
lots information that I have not gotten around to presenting here. Please check
back for updates. I welcome any and all feedback good or bad: dadloveszachandmirrissa@gmail.com
*****Last Updated 5/30/2006*****