All in all, pretty awesome time. As with most family vacations, there was very little "mommy/daddy time" but we had kinda set it up that way so it's not really a disappointment, it's just more tiring than a vacation where the two of us go alone.
We started with a couple of days with my W's dad and really had a good time there. The one interesting thing to note here is that I had a little alone time with the kids' grandmother (by marriage). We had a really good discussion about my changes and her own experiences.
A little history....W's parents are D since W was 10-12 yrs old. W has told me that she never even knew that her parents fought or had a problem until they told her they were getting D. I learned that W's dad didn't know either. His W started a relationship with his best friend and asked for D before he even knew she was unhappy. I'm not sure my W even knows how this went down as my FIL is a pretty stand up guy and I doubt he'd say anything bad about his XW. Not much to do with this, but it gives me a little more insight on W's history and associated beliefs.
After that we did 7 days in the sun and was an absolute blast. There was one day I drank too much and W called me a jerk the next morning (rightfully so, as it was my D12's bday), but she drank too much two days later and was really happy how I handled it. I found myself questioning why W was judgmental about my behavior whereas I showed understanding and compassion for hers, but I didn't mention it. Outside of those two incidents the whole week was pretty awesome. The kids loved it and I definitely would like to return with just me and W in the future for a more romantic vacation, but this was everything I could ask for (except cheap!).
There was absolutely no R talk but W and I were intimate quite a bit. We enjoyed some time alone off and on as kids spent time in the pool or working on HW and enjoyed every minute. One thing I was a little caught by surprise on was we were looking at pictures one day and my W picked one of the two of us at dinner and said "this would be great to give as a gift to your mom and my mom." We grabbed it went as it was a great pic of us but I couldn't help but think, if we're getting D, I don't think they'll particularly like this :p
I had a nice talk with my Dad yesterday and he asked me about the upcoming court date. I was surprised by my reaction a little, as I am really ok with it. I feel like at this point, if that's what she wants, that's ok with me. I am starting to really be myself for the first time in my life, starting to become who I want to be and if W needs to be D'd in order to find her own way, that's ok. Clearly it's not what I want, nor what I think is best, but I'm only 50% of the package here.
With all that said, I am really happy to be home for the holidays!
