Parents
At first, people might not think this is 'nice', but it's just occurred to me that actually it was.

When I was rather much smaller than I am now (this being the norm for people at about the age of 1 year) my parents did the divorce thing. This being due to my father's errant todger, however it was not a 'filthy man doing shagging around' as he's been married to his second wife longer than he was married to my mother (which incidentally was not a short length of time (aside: married for 11 years. Have one child, all ok. Have another child: divorce inside 18 months. What the funk did I do that was I so bad?! Apart from shit everywhere and scream)).

Yes, I agree that doing the nasty when you have two children under 5 at home is not a terribly nice thing to do, but I am speaking of the divorce itself.

There are a huge number of posts on this site regarding people breaking up and how crappy it can be when one half of the pair acts like a complete twunt and pretty much ruins life and future for the other.

My parents' divorce lawyer expressed incredulity and great respect for the manner in which they handled their break up. At one meeting he indicated the size of their folder with the relevant documents inside: about 2 cm thick.
On the desk was a huge tome just about as full as it can get. This was one of 2 folders for another couple who were at each others throats with, of course, some kiddies in the middle.

Throughout my childhood neither my sister nor I were used as pawns by either parent to get at the other. Nor were we lied to about who our parents were (my dad obviously had a new partner, and my mother got another bloke within a year (not that there was anything going on before that, you understand)) or why they split up (mind you the one time we did tearfully ask him why, we didn't question the "we just stopped loving each other" response. I should ask him about that... It might be true but it doesn't explain his winky escapades). Sure there were times when one parent didn't like something the other had done, but it never got out of hand or went court-wise.
The maintenance money of £100 a month each didn't change from 1985 until we'd both finished further education (at 22 years of age in both cases). So many other mothers would have gone back to court to get an increase over the years, what with inflation (at the very least) and changes in my father's employment. But then again my father could have stopped at 18 which was what was agreed in court - he even kept paying when he was unemployed for a year and still supporting two younger children.

So my point? Well, I'm a little fked up but who isn't? Some of it can be attributed to early family life, but mostly to other things *cough*.
But having an amicable divorce when you have young people on hand is a rather spiffy thing to do for the kids.

Oh - and my stepfather was/is a very nice man who's always treated me and my sister like his own and considers us such.
I reckon it's because he was going to ask my mum out but my dad got there first. But he married my mum 32 years later, so he won. Woot.

My stepmother on the other hand... well I got her back by being all upset and what not when I used to visit when I was very young. I think I must be the same age now as she was back then. How would I feel about drying off a tearful toddler covered in his own wee pretty much every night? Heh. I win.
(tweebianmonkey Should be known as Widget, Mon 6 Oct 2008, 16:58, 2 replies)

*click*
yay for lovely parents who do the right thing!
(G-Lo, Mon 6 Oct 2008, 17:37, closed)

My parents did the same basically...
just wish the fools could handle it like your folks did

*clicks*
(TMAce needs to enter another image challenge sometime, Mon 6 Oct 2008, 17:55, closed)