I don’t know if that was a backslide. You don’t want to be “sorry you feel that way” about everything. Maybe just a comment that it is something you find you enjoy. Who knows.
Validating and not pursuing and all of that takes a ton of time to get used to. And sometimes you do have to say what you feel or think. As time passes, it becomes easier to know when to say what.
Funny how one day she is calling you because the kids won’t listen to her and then later blaming you because they listen to her when you are not around…
Do your best to not let her use the kids as pawns. Personally, I refuse to let my S hold anything over my head by the threat of “telling his father”. That is total bull. When I am home, I am the parent and I don’t care what his father thinks. So I tell him, go ahead but it won’t make any difference in my decision with you.
You sound like you have a good idea of what is going on and are handling it well.
Have a good day.
"Acceptance doesn't mean resignation. It means understanding that something is what it is and there's got to be a way through it."--Michael J. Fox
