I was surprised how well Christmas went. I got the kids around 2pm on Christmas Day, and I had everything ready for them. My oldest daughter had some emotional difficulty with the transition, but after I helped her for a little while, she was fine.

The big surprise for me was that I was fine. I was so busy getting everything ready I didn't have a chance to get sad, and when the kids showed up I was excited for them to open their presents. I felt very little loss over the fact that my W wasn't here. It just felt different from Christmas's past, not necessarily worse.

I did give a small gift to my W. It was a spur of the moment thing. I was doing some extremely last minute shopping, and I got a small bag of treats for her (formerly our) dog, and I thought "Pretty bad to have a gift for the dog, but not for her", so I bought her a small box of chocolates. When she arrived with the kids, I gave her the two gifts. She had a look of shock that one was for her. I just smiled and said "One of Santa's elves must not have gotten your change of address form." She gave a little smile, and got back in her car. She is no longer coming into my house, and I no longer go into hers, which is fine with me.

Usually she waits inside the door while the kids come in, but the next day when I brought the kids back to her, she came out on the porch, absolutely dressed to KILL! She looked HOT! I made no comment about it, just said goodbye to the kids. My poor daughter was again upset and wouldn't even look at me. My W thanked me for the chocolates, I said your welcome, and I got back in my car and left. Friendly, but no special attention at all.

Today she brought the kids back over, as we are now back on our regular schedule. I had just gone running on this beautiful day, and I was sitting on my front porch playing guitar when she showed up. She came up on the porch to pick up some school pictures, and while I was giving them to her, I noticed she was absolutely doused with the perfume I like so much. I made no mention of it, gave her the pics, and said goodbye.

Don't know if she's doing those things to get my attention, or to try to break my resolve, but I'm not really playing a game anymore. I'm legitimately not interested in talking with her or showing her any attention. I finally feel empowered and in control of my own life. Great stuff!