been away awhile - but now MOVING ON!!

hey all, apologies for going 'off air' for many weeks/months...it's been extremely stressful with getting the house sold (yay! closing in July) and getting STBX to finally acknowledge that splitting makes sense. After years of marriage counseling, solo and together - it's become quite clear that this is the right path (at least for me). Up until the end, my wife still hoped 'we would work things out', but she was never able to acknowledge the intense damage the SM had created. I had given her soo many chances to work on her issues of intimacy avoidance - but that's apparently a hugely difficult thing for her to truly dig into. She could only lightly acknowledge the SM, then brush it aside as if it wasn't really that big of a deal and she'd simply rather blame me...DARVO in classic forms across the board.

So, we'll be separating as soon as the sale is complete - and I will be moving away from the NYC area to begin my retirement (and begin my Match.com efforts to find a new life.)

our 3 kids are all understanding and sympathetic - they all saw this coming years ago... I had a really nice 'pre-batchelor party' week with my sons recently (older son getting married in August) and my daughter is planning on being close to me (likely down in NC) after she graduates in December. The wedding will be awkward (mostly for my wife) - but I am so comfortable with how things are now panning out. My family is fully supportive and understanding, even my 88yr old mom. 

Divorce seems to be an eventuality, but we'll shelve this until after the wedding and graduation.

I have been so excited about the varied possibilities for starting a new life, without the misery, loneliness and the feeling of 'walking on eggshells' as it's been for the last dozen years.

Thank you all for the great support - this forum is a wonderful source of great advice & empathy - and the a great set of 'shoulders to cry on'.

Cheers!