If the kids chose exdh, and he no longer pays child support, she might not be able to afford to live in MD any longer OP. Have you thought about that?

I wouldn't assume that she has abandoned her kids. They're with their father by their own choice and for all we know they're still in touch and may go visit her eventually. I have a relative who is living halfway around the world because of work while the kids are with their mother. They're in touch, he's engaged, they visit him on school breaks. No one bats an eye or considers that abandonment. No one is gossiping behind his back about how he should've refused the international assignment and done whatever was needed to stay close by. I think you are jumping to conclusions and being a little judgmental and sexist.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is that abandonment? The kids are in their father's custody. Kids that age are able to choose which parent to live with. Is she supposed to keep her home as a shrine to them? What is the problem with her traveling? What is YOUR problem?

NP. Of course it’s abandonment. The woman moved away from her kids “to start a new life.” Now maybe she flies back and sees them regularly, but it doesn’t sound like it. It sounds like she’s upset they chose to live with her ex and she got tired of all the emotional baggage so she ran away. I don’t blame her for wanting a good life but she did move far away from her kids. Sad.

My ex moved halfway across the country and hasn’t seen our DD in four years. I doubt any court would charge him with abandonment.

So being a noncustodial parent is equivalent to abandoning your kids? Teenagers even? That's a new one.

MYOB. My MIL moved away from my DH and his brothers when they were teens, leaving them in a very stable home with their dad and stepmother. She wasn't really equipped to be a parent of teen boys on her own, and more importantly, she moved to a city where she could get a really good job that supported her for the rest of her life. She's very close to her kids & grandkids today.

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of this post? Why do we feel the need to comment on the life of a stranger (not a public figure). Even worse that this person might be known to some of this community. OP, you seem like an awful person. Please go do something better on your vacation than post commentary about a random person you encountered.

Isn't the runaway mom the person who is putting this stuff out there about herself? She's the one telling random strangers her life story. Apparently she's good with how she's been handling things.

Op is the one who was caught of guard by her tale.

This should be shut down asap

She probably had some sort of major conflict with her teens and they had moved in with their dad and were refusing to see her. She was afraid that their dad would go after her for support payments or would stop paying her support making it impossible to maintain her lifestyle....so she got out of dodge.

Some people are extremely selfish and are in it for themselves. She might be one of those people.

Both men and women can be crappy parents. Both fathers and mothers walk out of their kids lives. Both men and women can be self centered and care mostly about themselves. Teens are smart and when they don't want anything to do with a parent, it is usually for good reason. Maybe she was abusive or maybe she was never very involved or maybe she was never a nice person.

Yeah it is unfortunate that kids sometimes get crappy parents but it is what it is. Sometimes it is better for a bad parent to be out of the kids' lives, other times that absence really hurts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She moved to Central America because she's broke. And probably depressed or other mental health issues.

It doesn’t matter. She needs to be in her kids lives, even if they live with their Dad. She gave birth to them. It’s the connection, beyond the material

So, OP, I take it you have some deep fear your kids will reject you? Otherwise I cannot understand the strong opinions you have this, let alone your need to express them stridently and publicly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is that abandonment? The kids are in their father's custody. Kids that age are able to choose which parent to live with. Is she supposed to keep her home as a shrine to them? What is the problem with her traveling? What is YOUR problem?

NP. Of course it’s abandonment. The woman moved away from her kids “to start a new life.” Now maybe she flies back and sees them regularly, but it doesn’t sound like it. It sounds like she’s upset they chose to live with her ex and she got tired of all the emotional baggage so she ran away. I don’t blame her for wanting a good life but she did move far away from her kids. Sad.

That's not "abandonment." Some kids really are abandoned at that age - meaning they are kicked out of the house and completely on their own.

You can judge all you want in your head, but I think it's vile to post on DCUM about this woman from Bethesda, hoping it will have repercussions for her.

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of this post? Why do we feel the need to comment on the life of a stranger (not a public figure). Even worse that this person might be known to some of this community. OP, you seem like an awful person. Please go do something better on your vacation than post commentary about a random person you encountered.

Totally agree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She moved to Central America because she's broke. And probably depressed or other mental health issues.

Nice job of making excuses for inexcusable shtty behavior.

There's a reason that the dad got full custody. That's not an excuse, it's an explanation.

Yep. I’d bet it’s alcoholism or some other form of neglect

What is the point of this post? Why do we feel the need to comment on the life of a stranger (not a public figure). Even worse that this person might be known to some of this community. OP, you seem like an awful person. Please go do something better on your vacation than post commentary about a random person you encountered.