Not many guys get a chance to get out of child support. Here in New York state, you’re on the hook for child support until said child reaches the age of 21. Your only hope to get out of it is for the child to die, or for the child’s stepfather wanting to adopt her. Of course, there’s always the chance of being able to give up your unwanted child for adoption. That’s what happened to me.
It was early 2004 when I found out I was going to be a father. I never wanted anything to do with that child and the situation only happened because of my carelessness. Fortunately, I didn’t have to put up with my daughter for very long. Her mother and I named her Kaitlyn and she was born in late 2004.
By the time early 2007 rolled around, I’d had enough of the child. Her constant whining, crying and demanding attention got to me. More often than not, I would get up in the morning and change and feed her. I would then put her back in her crib and that’s where she stayed for most, if not all, the day. I simply didn’t want to deal with her, so I did the absolute bare minimum, a theme that has been a constant throughout my life.
I never really cared about her. There were plenty of times where she was left crying in her crib while I put headphones on and tended to matters on my computer. Mean? Maybe, but I satisfied my legal requirements: she was fed, she was bottled, she was changed.
At one point, it became a matter of wishing that she’d just die. I remember one occasion where she was toddling around the room and somehow got tangled up in telephone wires. I did nothing to stop her, but I did watch as her face turned red and contorted into a pained appearance.
I wanted to just sit and watch, but I knew I could face legal consequences for doing so, so I walked over, untangled her, sat her on the couch and went back to what I was doing. Again, I satisfied a legal requirement, not a desire to help.
Finally, the opportunity to give her up for adoption presented itself and you best believe that I jumped at that opportunity. It took a series of court dates and other drama that wasn’t necessary, but finally, in May of 2007, her biological mother and I went to court and signed away our rights.
I haven’t seen the child since. I haven’t regretted it since.
Her name is no longer Kaitlyn and she was almost immediately adopted by members of the Caruth family in Syracuse. At the time, two decades ago, the adoptive father was in charge of parking at a local educational institution and the adoptive mother was a homemaker. Yeah, that joke writes itself.
What is she doing now? What is the Caruth family doing now? I really don’t know. I sure as hell don’t care. They could have moved to Albany for all I know!
If I wanted to, I could find out what they’re up to very quickly, but the fact of the matter is that I didn’t want her then and I sure as hell don’t want to know her now. Every year, her biological mother (my current wife) gets a package in the mail with photographs and a brief report on what she’s doing in life.
But here’s the thing: that requirement went away on the child’s 18th birthday. As recently as this year, the adoptive mother still insists upon sending that packet. It’s annoying, because I have to go to the post office and fetch the package.
I can honestly tell you that I don’t know what she looks like, nor do I know or care what she’s up to. The one and only thing I know about her is that she was a highly successful student at a prominent Syracuse private school.
The only reason I know where she went for high school is not because I actively sought out the information, but because, a couple of years ago, someone sent both her mother and I this link to a story published on the internet for all to see, so it’s fair game for me to post.
Looking at the picture, I don’t recognize her at all. She could be any one of the girls. And I enjoy that ignorance!
That’s it. That’s all I know. I have no other information about her, including her birthday. No, I do not remember her date of birth. That’s how little I care about her. I’m assuming that she’s in college, but I don’t know or care which one. And even if I did, I wouldn’t post the information. There would be no point.
As for those packages, I’ve never once opened any of them. Never have I looked at her photographs and I’ve never once read her stories. What this means is this: I could walk right past her on the streets of Albany and never know it. She could be a famous musical artist by now, and again, I wouldn’t know it!
And I strongly prefer it that way!
I will be honest and say that, a few months ago, when I was diagnosed with colon cancer (a diagnosis that later turned out to be mistaken), I flirted with the idea of possibly reaching out to see if she had any desire to meet her biological parents before I died. After all, that would have been my one and only shot, based upon the information that was available to me at the time.
But I quickly abandoned that idea.
It turns out that I don’t really care enough about her. That is to say, I don’t care about her at all. Not even a little. My prior actions prove that, right?
Why waste my time and, for that matter, hers, by reaching out for a meeting I don’t really want in the first place? A meeting that she almost certainly doesn’t want? After all, she and her adoptive parents have had the power to reach out for over two decades. They have our mailing address. We’re easily found on Facebook.
So it seems that the lack of desire to meet is in fact mutual, and for that, I am grateful. The only way they’d know about my health situation would be for them to visit this website. But why would they? The adoptive mother knows this site’s URL, but why, after two decades, would she visit?
Over the past few months, conveniently right after I announced my ultimate mistaken diagnosis, I have gotten constant visits from IP addresses in Syracuse, whereas normally I got none. Could that be them? I would strongly prefer that they stay away, but of course I am powerless to stop them.
I’m mildly curious to see who would be visiting me from Syracuse of all places, but not enough to actually do anything about it. What’s odd is that my cancer story was covered by a media outlet in Syracuse, despite the fact that I was running for mayor of Albany, not Syracuse.
Now, what would I do if she or her adoptive parents tried to seek us out? I can’t stop her from hunting my wife down, but if they try contacting me online or in real life, then there will be serious and immediate legal ramifications. I am leaving them alone, so I expect them to leave me alone.
If I hear even a peep from the child or the adoptives, then I can assure you that an Order of Protection will be associated with this matter. I will press charges for harassment. I’m sure the kid wouldn’t want that on her record, so there’s her incentive to leave me alone.
What if my biological daughter wants to meet me? I highly doubt that that’s the case, but if it is the case, then I don’t care. There is no valid reason for us to meet. Even in a situation where I’m needed, the answer would be no. By that I mean if she ever needed bone marrow or other medical things like that where I could help out, I would refuse and just let nature take its course. I owe her nothing and she owes me nothing.
The one thing that she will never know is that she has a biological half-sister. My daughter, the one whom I wanted and acknowledge, thinks she’s an only biological child and I aim to keep her ignorant of knowledge to the contrary.
Looking back on it, I regret nothing. I never wanted her and I was so glad when the judge finalized the removal of my parental rights. It is absolutely possible to get out of child support payments, and I accomplished just that!