My husband and daughter had their own plans last night, so my son and I had a “date night.” I love when I get to spend fun one on one time with my kids, and I know it means a lot to them. So after soccer practice, my son and I went out to dinner, and then, I came up with a brilliant idea. We could go shopping for a few new Halloween decorations, go back to the house and decorate. We’d clean up and make the place look really good. It’d be a surprise when my husband and daughter walked in after their evening together.
Oh man! Little did I know I’d get the reaction I received when my daughter stepped in. ”What???!!!??? You decorated for Halloween without me? You ruined our tradition!” She took off for her room through tears and anger. I swear, blog readers, I had no idea she considered our Halloween decorating to be a tradition. To me, our pumpkin carving night and trick or treating are the big traditions. Obviously, however, she considers decorating to be meaningful. I had no idea.
My first reaction was to be annoyed. I had just spent the last two hours working so hard on cleaning and sprucing up our family room to feel Halloween-y, and how dare she be anything less than excited when she saw it! I did it for her, after all. My intentions were good, and why couldn’t she see that?
Then, my husband reasoned with me. She is just a kid. Somehow, over these years, I have created a tradition even though I didn’t realize it. There are hurt feelings all around, and I’ll never make the mistake again. Thank goodness that we have a little girl who really values special family time together. So, the remedy: we will get a few more decorations to have her contribute to the house, and next year, there will be no decorating without her.
Boy, did I feel misunderstood last night, and that is why my song of the day today is The Animal’s song “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” It is so hard being a Mommy sometimes, so click HERE to listen to the song on Youtube to sympathize, because today….I need to be reassured that I’m not all that bad.