Divorced mom thanks her ex-husband

Sara Woodard-Ortiz survived a painful divorce two years ago. She lives in Illinois with her daughter, and recently wrote an open letter to her ex-husband which may surprise you. It says in part, "Dear ex-husband, I used to call you names behind your back after our divorce. It ruined not only our marriage, but my self-confidence and my hopes and dreams for the future. Over the past two years, the pain as been replaced with gratitude. Here are four things I thank you for.

(1) I am eternally grateful you provided the other half of our daughter's DNA. Olivia is my whole life. I know she is your whole life too. (2) Thank you for cutting up my food into bite-sized pieces while I breastfed our daughter. That's one of my favorite memories of our marriage. (3) Thank you for teaching me the true meaning of love and marriage. My favorite quote is, 'Marriage isn't 50/50. Marriage has to be 100/100. It's not about dividing everything, but giving everything you've got.' (4) Thank you for giving me a second chance at happiness. I've learned I'm capable of enduring far more than I thought was possible. I've learned how to love myself and how great it feels to be single. I used to call you names after our divorce. That was before I realized how much there is to thank you for."