Update from an old one...

Many of us "old" ones are still here...some have moved on to the next phase. I am the single father of ten adopted sons. Yes, I said ten. Some of you know me, others don't. A.com was my sounding board for many years. I met some fantastic people here. Many of them are friends with me on facebook. I just stopped in for an update. J1 turns 31 this year. He is married and has a daughter, who is 7. He has applied for disability. I hear from him every couple of days. J2 turns 27 this year. He got married last year to a great young lady. He is doing well in an electrical apprentice program. M1 turns 26. He is married and has three children. He went to jail two years ago for armed robbery. He is scheduled to get out in February. His wife has been waiting for him, so has his children. I think he has learned. M2 turns 25. He returned to his foster family, who let him live there for free. He doesn't have a job. He loves his weed and alcohol. L1 turns 25. He is living with his biological aunt. He calls every other week or so. His son will be three this year. J2 will be 23. He is working at pizza place. His life is one soap opera after another. Last year, he got caught with spice and went to jail. He was facing a felony charge, as he was driving through a school zone when caught. He promised he would work for me if I paid the fine so he could be released. I spoke to the attorney. She told me that J2 could pay the fine and get a lower charge...or he would face a felony. I helped him. Within two hours of release, he admitted he lied to me. He had no intention of working for me to pay off the fine. Our relationship is strained. C turns 22. He is working for me, driving a van. He is engaged to be married in October. His daughter turns 2 this year. She is beautiful. C seems to be turning the corner from his past life. V also turns 22 this year. He is in jail for robbery. He will be released in March. Talking to him is totally different. He actually laughs. When he calls, he talks! I use to have to carry the conversation. He has finally let go of his old girlfriend that he was obsessed with. The old girlfriend is also the mother of his son. In a round about way, I got to name my grandson. I had given V Alexander as a middle name. The ex liked the name, so she gave it to my grandson. Alexander looks a lot like his father...scary thing...Alexander also looks like me. lol! S is almost 17. He quit school last year. In our state, it is legal for them to quit at 16. He has tried to get a job. No one is really hiring teenagers. He has decided to give it another try. His bio mother died November 2012. It hit him hard. He had went to stay with his sister in November 2013 for a bit. He found out that his bio mother had died from a heroin overdose. Once again, he took it hard. J4 is almost 13! He is pretty much a "normal" preteen. Starting to mouth off. The sad thing is...he has 9 older brothers. I have already been through it several times. He doesn't have a chance. His bio uncle still visits every 6 months. He also calls every Monday. In June, I am allowing J4 to visit his uncle in his home state. I now have 8 grandchildren. It is a mixture of happiness and sadness. Only one son is married to the mother of his children. That means another generation of children without dads around all the time. I have very good relationships with the mothers. They are very good mothers. I did move out of state last year. I had too. My sons were causing so much drama and pulling me into it. They were using me. I was an enabler. Now I am 500 miles away. They had to grow up. Life has settled down to a low roar. Two sons is so EASY! Just kidding! Take care all!