Kat, it has always been my opinion that if you set yourself up to hate the ex, you're setting yourself up to hate yourself. You question your own good sense, what it was you saw in that person, and you spread that ill-will all over your own environment as well as toward the ex. It is an untenable situation. I found files at my father's house after he died the convinced me all over again that as smart and generous as my mother was in general, the anger she nurtured and directed at my dad simply poisoned the environment for all of us. Forced us out and away. It's a good move to make friends when you can. Congratulations!

Lots to do today to move into the semester, the new year, and the new administration. Though he didn't say it in so many words, I think we should take from Obama's speech that we need to ask what we can do for our country, even if we can only manage it on a local level. Now that our latest Ex is from Texas, the nation can set aside the big hat, big spending, big living syndrome and look around to see what is really going on around us. This nation needs to do some de-cluttering, but more than that, they need to realign so that those who might lose jobs in one area that was over-hyped can find new employment in a more local, sustainable field. Or garden. :)

SRS