Ian.. It's all perceptions. What works for Mike is all that matters.
When we'd go to family functions and his family would get nasty.. I'd spend my time with the kids. I loved being with my nieces, nephews and kids over adults who I felt demeaned me. It was a choice I made. I felt positive with the kids.
As you well know, many times in divorce you can't win for losing when it comes to parenting the kids. With my spouse I ask myself "What is the objective?" and go from there. I have said almost the exact same thing to my spouse that your wife said to you, Mike, about being committed to being a co-parent. And you know what? My spouse does whatever he wants, however he wants. There's no co-parenting in our case because he doesn't want us to be seen as a couple to the kids in any way, shape or form, even as parents who work together.
Perhaps some of my own personal frustration came out in my post to you, Mike, for which I apologize. In the end, for me, it came down to why you went there in the first place to attend a parent meeting.
Your choice on what you do. Your choice on how you manage the parenting relationship with her. It's all one big stew.
