Friends complain when dad buys flowers for ex-wife, but his reason is pure gold

Billy Flynn’s friends don’t understand why he insists on being a nice guy to his ex-wife. When he bought her flowers on her birthday they were upset, but he set everyone straight with a post on Facebook. While his friends were worried about him, they never considered his children.

While some divorcees drag their former spouse’s name through the mud, Billy has chosen the higher ground and his reasoning couldn’t be more perfect. In a post on Facebook Billy explained what happened on his ex-wife’s birthday,

It’s my ex-wife’s birthday today, so I got up early and brought flowers and cards and a gift over for the kids to give her and helped them make her breakfast. Per usual someone asked me why the hell I still do things for her all the time. This annoys me. So ima (sic) break it down for you all.

I’m raising two little men. The example I set for how I treat their mom is going to significantly shape how they see and treat women and affect their perception of relationships. I think even more so in my case because we are divorced. So if you aren’t modeling good relationship behavior for your kids, get your [stuff] together. I don’t care if she’s a [rude woman]. Rise above it and be an example. This is bigger than you.

Raise good men. Raise strong women. Please. The world needs them, now more than ever.

Billy continued to discuss his thoughts on divorce and how responsible parents raise their children together even if their marriage is over.

Divorce is hard and I think we all do and say some things that really aren’t our best selves, but we always put the kids first, and honestly, I think that focus helped us repair our relationship into one of mutual respect over time, and our kids win as a result.

Kids want to care for their parents by nature, but they can’t do it alone. It’s our job to facilitate that. So even if your ex is a terrible person in your eyes, you need to set it aside and realize your kids love this person. Seeing you mistreat someone they love is traumatic, whether you want to own it or not.

I think you’ll be surprised to find that your mutual focus on the kids will actually benefit your post-divorce relationship because it takes the spotlight off your individual hurts and anger and resentment.

Billy’s post went viral overnight and complete strangers flooded his Facebook page with support of his parenting technique.