THE NIGHT BEFORE OUR BIG ANNIVERSARY, MY WIFE AND I WERE EAGERLY LOOKING FORWARD TO CELEBRATING IT WITH A WONDERFUL ROMANTIC GETAWAY FOR TWO. HOWEVER, OUR DAUGHTER INSISTED ON COMING WITH HER FAMILY, MAKING ALL KINDS OF DEMANDS, AND THAT’S WHEN I TOOK A STAND.
My wife and I had been planning our 40th anniversary trip for years. It was going to be a dream vacation to celebrate four decades of love and companionship, just the two of us. But then Jane, our daughter, found out about our plans, and everything went downhill.
My wife, Maggie, and I had booked a small, cozy inn on the coast of Maine — the kind of place where you drink coffee on the terrace and watch the sunrise over the ocean. It seemed perfect: a romantic getaway to relive the early days of our marriage.
But when Jane found out about our plans, she rushed to our house unannounced. She tried to manipulate my wife into letting her come with her husband and two kids.
“MOM, I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU COULD LEAVE US OUT,” Jane said that night during dinner, after her older brother Frank let it slip that we were going on vacation.
“THE KIDS ADORE YOU, AND THEY LOOK UP TO YOU SO MUCH! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MUCH IT WOULD HURT THEM TO FIND OUT THAT YOU’RE GOING ON A TRIP AND DIDN’T WANT THEM TO BE THERE?”
I frowned but stayed quiet. Our firstborn daughter always had a knack for working her mother, and I wanted to see how the situation played out. My wife hesitated, as she always did when Jane played the guilt card.
Seeing her struggle to find the right words to push our daughter back, I decided to take charge of the situation.
“Well, honey, it’s not that we don’t want you there. This is a special trip for us,” I said, trying to reason with Jane.
Our daughter clasped her hands over her heart, and in my mind, I rolled my eyes, as I had seen her do before.
“EXACTLY! THAT’S WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT FOR MY WHOLE FAMILY TO BE THERE. IT COULD BE A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO BRING US TOGETHER. YOU’RE ALWAYS SAYING HOW IMPORTANT FAMILY IS, RIGHT, DAD?”
I took a deep breath to calm myself, determined to stay firm.
“Jane, this trip is for us, just for your mother and me. It’s our anniversary.”
Jane’s sigh was so dramatic it deserved an Oscar for her performance.
“DAD, COME ON! WE ALMOST NEVER DO THINGS LIKE THIS AS A FAMILY. YOU’RE ALWAYS PREACHING THAT FAMILY IS EVERYTHING, AND NOW YOU’RE ABANDONING US AND YOUR GRANDKIDS? IT’S NOT FAIR.”
The conversation didn’t end there. Over the following weeks, Jane doubled down on her efforts. She called my wife, and sometimes called me, almost every day, each time with a new angle.
“MOM, YOU’LL REGRET NOT HAVING INCLUDED US WHEN THE KIDS ARE OLDER AND TOO BUSY TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU.” Or: “DAD, DON’T YOU WANT THE KIDS TO REMEMBER YOU AS FUN, ENGAGED GRANDPARENTS?”
In the end, her insistence wore my wife down. “Maybe we should reconsider,” Maggie said one night as we sat on the couch. “Maybe Jane’s right. Family is important.”
“FAMILY IS IMPORTANT,” I agreed, “but so are we. This was supposed to be our time.”
Still, I could see the doubt in her eyes, and I knew I was outnumbered. To keep the peace, I reluctantly agreed to change our plans. We swapped the charming inn in Maine for a family resort in Florida.
Jane and her husband, Nick, only had to pay for their flights, while we paid for the resort and the grandkids’ tickets. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I convinced myself it would still be fun.
But as the trip approached, Jane’s demands grew. It started with small things.
“By the way, don’t forget to bring lots of snacks for the kids,” Jane said one afternoon during a phone call with her mom. “You know how picky they are, and I don’t trust the food at the resorts.”
My wife glanced at the packing list. “We can manage with the snacks, but…”
“AND DAD AND YOU WILL TAKE THEM TO THE POOL, RIGHT?” Jane interrupted. “Nick and I could really use some relaxation. It’s not like they’ll be doing much else.”
I could feel the frustration bubbling inside me, but I bit my tongue.
Then came the straw that broke the camel’s back. Two nights before the trip, Jane called with another demand.
“One more thing,” she said nonchalantly. “Can you handle putting the kids to bed for at least three or four nights? Nick and I want to check out the nightlife. After all, you’re pros at raising four kids. And it’s your anniversary trip, so… time to bond, right?”
That’s when I realized. This wasn’t going to be a family trip. These were going to be Jane and Nick’s vacation while we played full-time babysitters. Our romantic anniversary getaway was slipping out of our hands…
THE NEXT DAY, I DECIDED TO FACE MY DAUGHTER. I CALLED HER WHILE SITTING IN OUR BEDROOM, SURROUNDED BY BROCHURES OF THE ORIGINAL TRIP WE HAD PLANNED.
“Jane, we need to talk,” I started. “Your mother and I had a vision for this trip, and it didn’t include us becoming the service staff for you and Nick.”
She let out an exaggerated groan. “Dad, you’re being dramatic. It’s not like we’re asking you to watch them all the time. You’ll still have fun too.”
“Jane, you’re asking us to take care of the bed, the pool, and probably everything else,” I replied. “We are NOT your vacation staff!”
Her tone became sharper.
“CAN YOU HEAR YOURSELF?! IT’S LIKE YOU DON’T WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS.”
“It’s not that,” I said, trying to stay calm. “But this trip was supposed to be for your mom and me, not for you or the kids. We’ve been looking forward to it for years.”
“Well,” she snapped, “then CANCEL IT! I’ll tell Nick we’re not going, and we’ll stay home while you and mom go off on your little getaway.”
I didn’t respond. I knew that no matter what I said, it would only add fuel to the fire because Jane had gone too far.
Instead, I decided…
After ending my call with Jane, giving her the impression that she had won, without telling anyone, I called the airline and changed our tickets to the original destination.
The day before our flight, I told my wife the truth about what I had done. She blinked, stunned. “What did you do?”
“We’re going to Maine,” I said firmly. “Just the two of us. Like we had planned.”
“Jane will figure it out,” I said. “We deserve this trip. And if we don’t do it now, we’ll never do it.”
The next morning, we boarded our flight. As the plane ascended into the sky, my wife squeezed my hand.
“You know, I think you were right,” she said softly. “I’m worried about Jane’s reaction.”
“It’ll be fine,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely sure myself.
When we landed, I called our daughter.
“Jane, I have to tell you that we’ve decided to stick with our original plans. We won’t be going to the family resort.”
There was silence on the other end. Then Jane’s voice erupted.
“WHAT?! YOU’VE ABANDONED US? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? WE WERE COUNTING ON YOU.”
“Why, Jane?” I asked calmly.
“TO HELP US, OBVIOUSLY!” she snapped. “How do you think we’re going to handle the kids on our own? This trip was only possible because of you and mom.”
Before I could respond, Nick grabbed the phone.
“THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!” he shouted. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE?! YOU’VE RUINED OUR VACATION! WE CAN’T FIND A BABYSITTER WITH SUCH SHORT NOTICE. YOU’RE SO SELFISH, ESPECIALLY ON YOUR ANNIVERSARY.”
I didn’t argue. I simply hung up.
When we returned a week later, our daughter wasn’t speaking to us. She ignored our messages, and Nick posted a passive-aggressive comment on social media about “people who abandon their family.” My wife felt guilty, but I didn’t.
The week in Maine had been everything we had dreamed of: peaceful, romantic, and restorative. On the last night, during a candlelit dinner, my wife took my hand and smiled.
“I’m so glad we came.”
Frank later told us that his sister and her family went to the family resort, but didn’t enjoy it much. The couple was too busy with their kids and barely had any time alone. Luckily, our grandkids had the time of their lives and couldn’t stop talking about it.
As for Jane, she can expect an apology, but I’m sticking to my decision. Sometimes, the best way to teach someone a lesson is to show them that your time and your boundaries
are just as valuable as theirs.
If this story made your emotions rise and fall, the next one will leave you speechless. In the next story, a woman’s family leaves her out of her aunt’s retirement celebration vacation in Hawaii, planning for her to stay behind to take care of their kids. When the woman discovers the truth, she reacts in the most unexpected way, seeking revenge.
