I moved interstate (for reasons that I don't feel I need to explain) and as a consequence, was forced to leave my almost 6yo son behind with my XH, or risk not being allowed to leave the state at all.

Unless you're in my shoes, you'll never know how hard it was for me to make a decision like that. or even what it's like for me to live with that decision. But staying was not an option either.

The situation is so complicated that I can't even begin to explain it. So please, before anyone judges the person who decides to move away from the other parent (and their child, in my case), just stop and think about it. Life is not two-dimensional and there are so many factors that play a part in people's lives.