CHAPTER 14“Mommy, don't go!”: How to get over guilt and be the parent you want to be
A few weeks ago Florian went to Hong Kong for a week. Our older daughter struggled with him leaving because—as she said to me—“next you'll leave us.” (I had a trip to America booked for when he got back.)
I reminded her that Papi is usually home all the time so we should let him have his trip.
“But you're not,” she said, “so I don't want you to go.”
Talk about mommy guilt. This is one of those moments where you can either crumble under the weight of it or rise above it.
So I told her again about the reason I was going to the States. I'd been asked to show one of my products on QVC. I talked to her about how this was one of my goals that I'd been working toward and how excited I was to go.
She saw how excited I was and how important it was to me and she said, “Well, can I come?” I thought about it and realized it wasn't so complicated, since my sister lives over there. I called my sister to check and she said sure, she could take my daughter to school with her to help with her first-grade class.
So while Florian was on his flight to Hong Kong I booked a flight for me and our daughter to go to the United States. When Florian landed he saw the booking and texted me: What a great idea to take her! So happy for you. It will be a lovely experience.
Having separate overseas trips with our kids once a year was on our bucket list. Seems like I kicked this goal!
GUILT, MYTHS, AND EXPECTATIONS
As mothers, ...
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