I know that everone is fighting their own battles, but this situation is a bastard coated bastard with bastard filling!
I am thinking I may like bastard filling these days. Call me crazy ..
Whatever the stbx serves up, Ant is going to eat with a smile, as he knows it won't kill him, it'll just make him stronger for it, and will be able to handle the next helping of even worse bastard pie.
I don't know about the "with a smile" part...but this is painful stuff. Maybe we need to learn to burn that pain as fuel for the journey that we're on.
"Always go straight forward, and if you meet the devil, cut him in two and go between the pieces." - William Sturgis, clipper ship captain, 1830's.