similar hapened with my daughter and husband. He and I had become great friends but living in a diferent town with thier two children they all drifted apart.

After 13 years, there is no reason you can't keep the same level of relationship with her. My mother in law and I stayed just as close after I as divorced. She was awesome.

Okay, straight up. My father left my family when I was 7 years old. I loved him. Apparently, that was not a two way street. He made it a clinical, surgical departure. I saw him only once again when I was 18 at his father's funeral. For all I know, he is dead. Based on probabilities, he probably is.

So then in my early 20s I got married. My father-in-law was the father I never had.

Fast forward and after almost 25 years that marriage is over. And I don't get to speak to my father-in-law anymore.

So, I got to lose my father figure twice. No wonder I don't have kids.

And that's it.

But this time around you get to see it. Some things we can’t know until we really get to ‘experience’ them. And this time it can be more positive.

I've been divorced from my first husband for 25 years and still maintain a relationship with my ex-in-laws because my daughter still wants me to be in their lives. We get together on my daughter's birthday once a year. Becky has cerebral palsy and special needs. Don't know if she wasn't if this would be the same but we've buried old stuff and do our best to get along.