Thanks everyone. The more I read on these forums, the more I see that so many of us are dealing with very similar situations. I hope we can all help one another.

@Sam2, I'm so glad you were able to reconnect with your son. My older brother is divorced and I have a soft heart for fathers who get torn from their children after divorce, in ways that mothers usually don't, and how mothers can take advantage of all that.

My father is major depressed also, it runs in the family and is often talked about a lot. My son and I have good communication and he is such a good kid, I am so blessed to have him. He deserved better though, but I can't change that, and he loves me anyway.