Step Talk

So, due to Hubby and MIL comments about my "jealous and harsh" behavior towards the skids, I decided to disengage. And I love it! Hubby took the skids to a watch a basketball game Fri night, asked if I wanted to go, said no thanks! I stayed home and read! They came home late and I just smiled and asked if they had a good time. They were hungry (always are!) so when Hubby looked at me I just smiled and started getting ready for bed. I know he was expecting me to make a comment about the hour (past 11pm already!) but I zipped it, and let him feed them whatever junk he wanted to. I just bid them all sweet dreams and went to bed. The next morning I left before any of them woke up for a study group I have every Saturday. Hubby woke long enough to ask me what they were going to have for breakfast. I told him whatever he wanted to make. Like he expected me to prepare breakfast before I left! I studied, then hung out a little late to just chat with my friends instead of running home like usual and by the time I got home Hubby had taken the girls out to wherever, didn't know, didn't care. So I just puttered happily around the house and pretended I was single and did whatever I wanted! When they got home I didn't question anything, just smiled and asked if they had fun, made dinner and just made absolutely no decisions whatsoever. Every time they asked me a question, I told them to ask Dad. Every time they wanted something, Ask Dad. Went to bed early again. Sunday was the same way. I could tell Hubby got frustrated at certain points because he couldn't get any time to himself. He couldn't take his usual nap because I was busy and couldn't watch the skids for him. He had to make all the decisions, do all the bedtime rituals, which is always a frustrating process, wake them up, and mediate all the little arguments the girls had all weekend.

I was cool, relaxed, and fun hang around with. The skids loved me. Made zero decisions. Not one word of discipline crossed my lips. Why didn't I try this before???

The funniest part was, I don't think Hubby realized that I had pulled back. Because other than Saturday, I was always there, smiling in the background, but I didn't do anything. He told me Sunday night that the skids were so much more difficult this weekend than they had been in a long time and they had completely exhausted him. I didn't feel the need to tell him it was like that because I had stopped taking up the slack and making sure everything ran smoothly. He'll figure it out eventually.