WF ~ Thanks for the advice. Your last sentence sounds a lot like my STBXW.
Technically she'll be my XW as soon as our final settlement is signed off in court.
Having everything signed off is a huge relief. At the end of the day, we spent a minor fortune just to agree to equal time share and a reasonable financial settlement that I can live with, given the laws where I live. I have to shake my head at the complete waste of it all, given I made essentially that same offer before we ever went to court, but I know I'll be able to get back on my feet and move on.
There were 1 or 2 posters who chimed in anonymously once or twice on my thread who went through similar high-conflict situations. They were spot on. DB has been great for the other relationships in my life (kids, friends, colleagues, family) but the way to deal with XW was to stand up to her and craft and execute a plan.
Coparenting continues to be tough but that's going to be there always. I focus on what I can control and let the rest be noise. I may not like my kids being put in the middle for no reason, but if I can't control it, I just do my best to be there for my kids and ignore the noise.
I had the kids for Thanksgiving this week and we made a little feast for ourselves. It was very special for me -- the first Thanksgiving post-separation that I had them. They all helped cook a little feast (just the four of us) and we treated ourselves to pie for breakfast because, well, why not?
