Our Daughter Tried to Turn Our 40th Anniversary Trip into Her Free Vacation with Babysitting Service — So I Taught Her a Lesson
My wife and I were eager to celebrate with a fantastic romantic getaway for two ahead of our most important wedding anniversary. But when our daughter made a lot of demands and tried to push herself and her family forward, I eventually stood my ground.
For years, my wife and I had been organizing our trip to celebrate our 40th anniversary. Just the two of us would be celebrating forty years of love and partnership on a fantastic vacation. However, everything took a turn for the worst when our daughter Jane learned of our plans.
On the Maine coast, my wife, Maggie, and I had reserved a small, comfortable inn where you could enjoy coffee on the veranda while taking in the sunrise over the sea. A romantic retreat to revisit the early years of our marriage felt ideal.
However, Jane came to our house without warning after learning of our preparations! She attempted to coerce my wife into letting her, her spouse, and their two kids go!
After her elder brother, Frank, had hinted that we were going on vacation, Jane stated, “Mom, I just don’t understand how you could leave us out,” during dinner that evening.
“You are very loved and respected by the children! If they learned that you went on this incredible trip and didn’t want them there, just think of how upset they would be.
I scowled but said nothing. I wanted to see how this worked out because our lastborn child had always been brilliant at working her mother. When Jane used the guilt card, my wife paused, as she always did.
I made the decision to take charge of the situation after observing her struggling to find the proper words to persuade our daughter to back off.
It’s not that we don’t want you there, my love. I tried to talk sense into Jane’s head by saying, “This is a special trip for us.”
I rolled my eyes, just as I had seen our daughter do previously, as she wildly put her hands over her heart.
“Exactly! My entire family’s participation is crucial because of this. We may have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect! Don’t you constantly emphasize the value of family, Dad?
Determined to stand by my principles, I inhaled deeply to regain my composure.
“Just your mother and I are going on this trip, Jane. We are celebrating our anniversary.
Jane earned an Oscar for her performance because of how dramatic her sigh was.
“Come on, Dad! As a family, we rarely get to do things like this. You often preach about the importance of family, so why are you abandoning us—and your grandchildren? What’s fair about that?
That was not the end of the conversation. Jane increased her efforts throughout the course of the following few weeks. Almost every day, she called my wife and occasionally enlisted me, always coming up with a fresh plan.
“Mom, you’ll regret not including us when the kids are older and too busy to spend time with you.” Or is it, “Dad, don’t you want the kids to remember you as fun, involved grandparents?”
Her perseverance finally wore my wife down. Maggie commented, “Maybe we should consider it,” while we were sitting on the couch one evening. “Jane might be right. Family matters.
“Family IS important,” I concurred, “but we are too. This was meant to be our moment.
I knew I was outnumbered, yet I could still see the doubt in her eyes. I grudgingly consented to alter our plans in order to maintain harmony. We chose a family-friendly resort in Florida over the quaint inn in Maine.
We paid for the resort and the tickets for the grandchildren, and Jane and her husband, Nick, simply needed to pay for their airfare. I told myself that even though it wasn’t what I wanted, it might still be enjoyable.
However, my daughter’s sense of entitlement increased as the trip drew near. Little things were the first.
“By the way, don’t forget to pack plenty of snacks for the kids,” Jane told her mother over the phone one afternoon. “You know how picky they are and I don’t trust resort food.”
My spouse took a quick look at her packing list. “We can manage snacks, but—”
“And you and Dad will take them to the pool, right?” Jane interrupted. “Nick and I are in dire need of some time to ourselves. You people aren’t really doing anything else.
I bit my tongue even though I could feel the frustration building inside of me.
Then the last straw appeared. Jane made another demand over the phone two nights prior to the trip.
Casually, “Oh, one more thing,” she remarked. “Are you able to keep the kids in bed for at least three or four nights? I want to explore the nightlife with Nick. After all, having raised four kids, you’re the experts. It’s also your anniversary trip, so it’s time to bond, right?
It dawned on me then. This vacation would not be a family outing. We were planning to play full-time babysitters while Jane and Nick were on vacation! Our romantic retreat for our anniversary was slipping away from us.
I made the decision to speak with my daughter the following day. Sitting in our bedroom with brochures from the first vacation we had planned, I contacted her.
“Jane, we need to talk,” I starting said. “Your mom and I had a vision for this trip, and it didn’t include us acting as babysitters for you and Nick.”
She groaned hyperbolically. “You’re being theatrical, Dad. We’re not asking you to look after them all the time, really. You will also be able to enjoy yourself.
“Jane, you’re asking us to do bedtime, pool time, and probably everything in between,” I replied. “We’re not your personal vacation staff!”
Her voice became piercing.
“Can you hear yourself? You seem to be unwilling to even interact with your grandchildren.
“It’s not that,” I responded, forcing myself to remain composed. However, your mother and I were meant to be the focus of this trip, not you or the children. We had been anticipating it for years.
“Fine,” she said abruptly. “Then cancel it! I’ll let Nick know that we won’t be going and that we’ll just stay home and watch you and Mom go out.”
I didn’t answer. Jane had gone too far, and I knew that anything I said would only make the situation worse.
Instead, I decided to…
I called the airline and changed our tickets back to the original destination after hanging up with Jane and giving her the idea that she had won without notifying anyone.
I was honest with my wife about what I had done the day before our travel. She gave me a startled blink. “You did what?!”
forcefully, “We’re going to Maine,” I declared. The two of us alone. as we had intended.
“But Jane—”
I remarked, “Jane will figure it out,” “This trip is something we deserve. And we will never take it if we don’t do it now.”
We took off the following morning. My wife clutched my hand as the jet shot through the air.
Her voice was quiet as she said, “You know, I think you were right,” “I’m just worried about Jane’s reaction.”
I said, “She’ll be fine,” even though I wasn’t positive.
I contacted our daughter as soon as we touched down.
“I must inform you, Jane, that we have chosen to adhere to our initial plans. We will not be visiting the family resort.
On the other end, there was stillness. Jane’s voice then sprang forth. “What? You abandoned us? How did you accomplish this? We were keeping tabs on you.
“For what, Jane?” Calmly, I asked.
“Obviously, for HELP!” she yelled. “How do you think we should handle the children by ourselves? You and Mom were the only ones who made this journey possible.”
Nick took the phone before I could reply.
He exclaimed, “This is unbelievable!” “Are you even aware of what you did? Our trip has been destroyed by you! We can’t afford to hire babysitters so quickly. It’s your anniversary, of all occasions, and you’re so self-centered!”
I refrained from arguing. I just hung up.
A week later, our daughter was not talking to us when we got back. Our texts went unanswered, and Nick made a passive-aggressive social media remark about “people who abandon family.” I didn’t feel bad, but my wife did.
Our week in Maine had been peaceful, romantic, and healing—everything we could have hoped for. My wife smiled and grasped my hand during our final romantic dinner. “I’m so glad we came here.”
“So am I,” I replied
Later on, Frank told us that although his sister and her family visited the family resort, they didn’t have a great time. The couple hardly had any time to themselves because they were so busy with their kids. Fortunately, our grandchildren had a great trip and spoke about it nonstop.
Jane, however, would anticipate an apology, but I stand by my choice. Showing someone that your time and boundaries are as significant as theirs is sometimes the best method to impart knowledge.
If that story made you feel a range of emotions, you will be blown away by this one! In the story that follows, a woman’s family decides she will stay behind and watch their kids while she is away from her aunt’s retirement celebration trip in Hawaii. The woman’s most surprising reaction upon learning the truth was to exact retribution.
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