Mandy was the nurse who recently wrote in to say she was tired of women who give up everything for their men to keep the relationship going. She cited three former co-workers take make her point.

There was the nurse who worked for a surgeon and left her husband and child for him. There was the nurse who considered her doctor's wife "the other woman." And then there was the nurse who dated a doctor before, during and after his divorce. They're still dating. Her Facebook status is "in a relationship." His is "interested in women."

All these women "breathlessly adore" their doctor men.

Mandy realizes that some readers must think she's a "fat, bitter old nurse who never got the doc." She says that's not true. "I'm a fat, bitter, old nurse who got the doc. Just kidding. I'm doing my level best to stay within a reasonable range of my wedding weight."

Mandy met her husband two weeks after deciding her marriage was over. "At the end of the day, we left our spouses for each other. When we got together, 11 years ago, I was one of those adoring gals. (Just between us girls, those docs are a needy bunch.)

"I fit the mold of those gals I wrote about, and like a bad reality show episode, really had lost myself trying to sublimate all that I was to fit what he needed. That needed to change and I changed the rules in the middle of the game. I really want to strangle him at times, but he's doing his best to meet me half way. That's all we can ask for. Right?

"Many years of therapy (with two therapists) later, we're still trudging along. I think we've hit bottom and will, ultimately, make our way up. We have only 18 months till my youngest leaves for school. After all of this, I think we owe it to ourselves to see what it's like with no kids around. We've always had three. I joke (but I'm not kidding) that we dated at Chuck E Cheese.

"The rationalization women go through is really making me nuts these days. Last week, I was on a plane standing at my seat, waiting to deplane and there was a couple in the row in front of me, a handsome corporate dude (wearing a wedding ring) putting on his scarf and coat and his single female co-worker, in full make up, hose, heels, the whole nine yards at 7 am. She was gazing up at him lovingly and he would not even glance at her. She was darling, by the way. I wanted to grab her by the scruff of the neck like a mama kitty and give her a good talking to in the jet way.

"If he were at all into her, I'd think, 'Well, that looks like a fun little fling' but the way she was looking at him and the way he was soaking up the 'breathless adoration' just made me so sad for her.

"I have an 18 year old daughter and I'm taking out her and some of her high school girlfriends for dinner on college break. I think I will bring our article."

Have you changed the rules on your partner? How's that working for you? Send your tale, along with your questions, problems and rants to [email protected]. And check out my e-books, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front" and "I'll Call You. Not.