Crashing and burning.
Since we started providing phones for Son and Daughter when they reached 12 years old, we've monitored interactions between them and anyone associated with The Ex. I could care less what they text their friends or what they talk about; The Ex is sheer evil, her family isn't any better, and I'll be damned if I let them have free reign over these children. Judge me if you want, call me a helicopter parent; I don't really care. When you've been through what we have, heard what we've heard, seen what we've seen, then I guarantee you that you're going to start documenting everything until your kid turns 18. It also helps that recording phone calls without notifying the other parent is legal in this state. We hadn't checked Daughter's phone in months because honestly, she's already 17 and Son is 19. Documentation is not nearly as vital as it was when they were 12 and 10, and The Ex was constantly mind-f*cking them. I've continued ...