For the first three years after the divorce, I was constantly bending and accommodating to my ex-husband and his schedule. I justified it as being an adult. I justified it as being a bigger person. I justified it because there were kids and I wanted to keep things nice, and after all, wasn’t this situation my fault?

And then one year, around the holidays, I made a mistake in my schedule and needed some accommodation. Could he please swap weekends? After all, for years hadn’t I done that for him, for his mother, for his family? That one weekend he wanted to take the kids to the family farm because the apples were ripe, and hadn’t I been so helpful in making that happen? And the wedding? Could I just have this one weekend?