The worst thing about my parents’ divorce was how much they cooperated. That sounds odd, doesn’t it? As a child, their level of respect for each other made the transitions easy for me and my sister. But as an adult, I’ve had a hard time understanding the animosity that plays out between separating couples.

One area where my parents worked together was the subject of caring for the kids if the custodial parent couldn’t. We lived with my mom most of the time and if she had somewhere to go or something to do, my dad was always quick to step in. I grew up thinking that was the way it should be.