Our trip for our 40th wedding anniversary had been on our minds for years. Just the two of us, we had planned a romance trip to Maine. Jane, our daughter, had other ideas.
She started making requests as soon as she learnt about our trip. She asked her husband and kids to come too, and she thought we should pay for everything. My wife felt bad because she said the kids would be hurt if we didn’t include them. But I saw right through her tricks.
I tried to talk Jane out of it by telling her that this trip was meant to be a special party for the two of us. She wouldn’t listen, though. She kept making requests, like making sure the kids went to bed and went to the pool. It was clear that she wanted us to be her personal vacation team.
I was done. I knew I had to teach Jane a lesson about how to respect our limits. So, I made up my mind. I changed our tickets to go back to where they were meant to go, and we went on our trip without Jane and her family.
Jane was very angry when she learnt about it. On the phone, she yelled at me and said that we ruined her holiday. I did say sorry, though. I didn’t give in. I knew we earned this trip and that putting our own needs first was important.
We had a great time on the trip. We held hands and talked about our 40 years together while wandering the coast of Maine during the day. It was a beautiful and healing trip, and we came back feeling renewed and happy.
When we got back, Jane still wasn’t talking to us. But I didn’t feel bad about what I did. I was sure I had taught her a useful lesson about setting limits and putting our own needs first. At the same time, I was thankful for the chance to spend important time with my wife by ourselves.
