having the last word:

I once had an ex tell me, mid-break-up, that I was running away from my relationship problems because that is what my father did. Now, I am of the school of thought that coming from a home where parents stayed together doesn't necessarily make you a mentally healthy person. Similarly, coming from a home where the marriage did not survive is not an indication that I will be unable to have a healthy relationship. From my parents, I learned that being able to be honest with yourself and your partner is what works best for everyone - even if it means that the relationship must end. When my parents divorced, my father did not run away; he spent a year or so living in an apartment, and then bought a condo less than a mile from my mother's house. Less than a mile. I could ride my bike back and forth between the two.
If anything, my parents divorce taught me the value of communication between people, no matter what their relationship. He was always focused on being the best possible parent he could be. He came to eat lunch with me at school and would read to my class, he took me to riding lessons, he helped me learn how to cook, and encouraged my decision when I told him I wanted to be a vegetarian. My parents continued to talk, you might even say that they were friends, throughout my childhood, and into my adulthood. From their divorce I learned that there is more than one way to parent, and that there is no one "right" way to be happy. The one thing he did not do is run away.
So here I am, four years later, remembering the argument. I have to have the last word. Like George, in Seinfeld, I can only think of something good to say now, after too much time has passed. Among all of the accusations made then, this is one that made me the angriest. To blame my father for our problems? Bullshit. Also, to assert that I was running away when I had tried for four years to make it work, and had always been the one who was at fault, no matter what the situation? That is just a lie. I walked away, and cut my losses.