The key is to take the emotion out of it. I stuck with the negotiations and cried through so much of our mediation. He was cruel. If he does not sign in due course he could be held in contempt. Don't expect change. I think they pull away from the life they knew as they feel they have to. Does time change them? I think when the heat of it all has died down - they do have some regret and the anger subsides. Do I think he will ever be the person I knew? Do I think he got what he deserved? Do I have regrets? I regret that this happened to me. We can't control someone else.
Hard to take emotion out of it, even though I'd have been better off if I could have. I just couldn't 'accept' that she was actually doing what she was. My heart hurt throughout the entire process. She was cruel and heartless throughout...still is. I never did sign the divorce decree...I refused. I saw change in her, but it was change for the worse... They do pull away...they do whatever is necessary to go through with it. Not her...she's still resentful to the Nth degree. I'd like to see that...but I'm not holding my breath. I don't think she'll ever be the person I knew. I think she got a lot more assets than she deserved. I've got tons of regrets...and I find it hard to live with how I was back then. I regret that she was on the receiving end of my stupidity, I regret for my kids the loss of their family, and I regret that any of the bad stuff happened. We can only control ourselves.
"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.
