Back from my Disneyland vacation with my kids. We had a fantastic time. My wallet took a huge hit but I didn’t care. We made some amazing memories and I think it was exactly what we all needed. My kids have been struggling with each other lately but really bonded during this trip and remembered that they can actually enjoy each other’s company and they do still love each other. D14 said she was super proud of her brother as he went on every ride except for one. A year or two ago, he would have wanted to skip half of them so he’s really gotten a lot more brave and willing to take some risks and step outside of his comfort zone. I’m glad she saw it the way that I did. She and I have also gotten past our hiccup of a few weeks ago. She told me numerous times how much she loves me and appreciates all of the things I do for both of them.
I had an unexpected text from XH today that rubbed me the wrong way. I know he was probably just trying to be complimentary and I’m ultimately choosing to see it that way but how he worded it made me want to reach through the phone and punch him in the face.
IDK…maybe I’m being too sensitive but his text read…”By now, as they’ve settled in, both S (OW) and I have heard many tales of how great a time they had on the trip. We are both very appreciative of you taking the Disney thing on. Thank you for giving the kids that experience.”
I would have been completely fine if he had said… “Sounds like the kids had a great time on your trip. Thanks for giving them that experience.” But he made it sound like the twins were their kids and I was the aunt who took them on vacation so now they both needed to thank me for it.
To be clear, I don’t need OW’s appreciation for the things I do with MY kids. She’s his partner, not mine. But beyond that, it was his line about how appreciative they are that I “TOOK IT ON” that bugged me the most. He made it sound like it was a chore on a ToDo list we both had and that I had saved them from having to do it. That is beyond laughable. He and OW are leaving for Mexico on Sunday without the kids. This will be his second tropical vacation with her in three years. He also told me last fall that he and OW were planning to go to Europe for three weeks this summer. When I suggested to him he might want to do something with our kids before they graduate, he told me her family takes a tropical group vacation every year and that he will take them on one of those trips. Since our split four years ago, he’s done nothing with them outside of the regular routine. He’s never even taken them away for a weekend. When it comes to vacations, his priority is “me, myself and I” and he and I both know he would never voluntarily spend that kind of money on them. The only reason we took them anywhere when we were married (and had way less money) is because I insisted on it. So needless to say, I’m not holding my breath.
Anyway…my first thought was to text him back that, as their mom, I make it a priority to follow through on my promises to them (in actuality, it was a promise we both made) but I also told him I would try to refrain from throwing “darts” at him and that response likely would have counted as one so, in the end, I decided to just ignore it.
In other news… my new car has arrived on the mainland. I just have to wait for it to get shipped to the dealership before I can pick it up. My sales guy says it should be in my driveway sometime in the next week or so. So excited!!!
