That's a wonderful story, Deda. And good for you and your ex-husband that you can still see the good in each other. Maybve even more importantly, it sounds like you have grown as a person by looking at yourself and how you functioned in your first marriage. My wife Ruth and I will celebrate our 8th Anniversary this summer, so it's been a similar time.   And I can't imagine life being more beautiful. More accurately, I could never have imagined life being this beautiful.

The tragedy is that my ex-wife, who had very serious emotional problems not only made it impossible for me to have any contact with her, but she also made sure our sons were so alienated that they feel they can't have anything to do with her either. I was given sole custody of my sons when they were 8 and 14 (unusual in itself) and she set out to destroy any possibility of their being able to be in contact with her. She did the same with her parents, and if I hadn't taken our sons out of such a destructive relationship, she would have taken all of us down with her. It IS tragic to see a gifted, intelligent, talented person so destroyed by their mental illness.

Jerry