I had to do a very hard for me thing today.
No it wasn't dealing with a screaming teething baby.
It wasn't potty training my 3 year old.
It wasn't being at home all day long by myself while my hubby was working extra temporarily.
It wasn't finding the motivation to do my housework.
It wasn't going in to pay rent not knowing whether or not we'll be able to make rent next month.
It wasn't figuring out which bills are absolutely necessary to pay & which ones will get skipped.
No, it wasn't any of those things that seem like they'd be hard.
It was having to tell my daughter that "No, we couldn't get an ice cream cone from the ice cream truck this time." And when she asked "Why?" Telling her "Because we don't have the money to buy that ice cream."
You see one of the joys of living in the city is that during the summer the ice cream truck comes. It's only come to our neighborhood 3 other times (that we know of) and I've always let M pick one of the $1 ice cream treats for a special treat. This time as the truck's music announced its arrival my heart dropped. I knew I would have to say no to most likely the last visit of the year.
The look of disappointment on her face broke my heart and brought me to tears. I think it would have been easier had she thrown a tantrum or made a big scene. I was actually expecting her to do that. However, she merely said "Okay," and then went off to play some more while the neighbor kids ate their ice creams. She acted quite "grown-up" and it kind of made me sad, yet very proud of my big little girl.
Edited to Add: BTW...I totally think that M not getting an ice cream is a good thing. There needs to be times when she doesn't get what she wants and I know that's good for her. It just isn't easy to see your kids disappointed no matter how good it is for them.
2 comments:
(((HUGS))) You did a wonderful thing with Mye today. You let her be part of the solution to your families problems. You're right. We don't need to let our kids have everything they want... but sometimes it sure is hard to say no. Especially when others' parents get to say yes. We had to tell you No to a lot of things.... look how terrific you've turned out! :)
It is hard to say sorry, but we can't. there have been times that i hav told that to kobe and he sometimes will say "maybe later" or "maybe tomorrow". i must say that a lot. But it does break your heart, but it is true (i guess) that you do have to say no once in a while but you hate it to be because of money issues. you think to yourself it's only a dollar, but it's funny how those dollars add up and if your like us we usually don't have cash. Keep up your great skills! You'll be blessed because your such a great mom and wife! We'll keep eyes open for jobs around here! I would love it to have ya back!
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