Yesterday, I was on the phone with my Ex discussing the kids and making some decisions together. He said that "parenting adult children is really hard," and I answered that I preferred it way more than parenting toddlers.
He then made the comment that he can't seem to get away from the young ones--that his girlfriend has a 7-year old, but she was on the long-term plan. I asked him if he was going to get married again (he's going through a second divorce), and he said "not for awhile."
That's when I said it. I said,
"You know, if you want to do some financial planning to protect our kids' legacies, then okay."
He agreed that might be a good idea. Ya'll--this was a HUGE moment. It marks the occasion where we've healed and recovered enough from our divorce to be able to talk on the phone without me hanging up on verbal abuse. It marks the occasion where he's comfortable even CONTEMPLATING discussing his finances with me. And it marks the occasion where we've been able to discuss something future-oriented again because we have kids together.
Once again, we share a common goal. It's been a really long time.