Consider yourself warned!
A guide for those who think they want children.
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Sometimes as a parent, you want to surprise your child. When my daughter turned 5 years old. I surprised her with a birthday party. It was a princess themed party. I told her friends’ mothers to have their daughters at my apartment at a certain time, and to have them dressed in their princess dresses. I hired a princess for the party and made lots of food. Miraculously, the secret never got out. My daughter was genuinely surprised when she came home from her father’s and saw all her friends. You should have seen the look on her face when her friends yelled, “Surprise!”. She didn’t know what was going on. She was so stunned, she ran to her bedroom. There, she found a new princess dress and crown laid out on her bed. All her excited little friends ran after her, hugged her, and then eagerly helped her into her dress. We all had a great time.
Fast forward 11 years later. That little 5-year-old girl turned 16 this past Tuesday. I asked her repeatedly if she wanted a Sweet 16 party, and she consistently said no. So, I along with one of my friends planned a surprise for her. For months, this kid has been blasting the songs in the musical Hamilton. I swear I have heard that music so much that I should know all the words to every single song. I decided that it would be a nice surprise to take her to see the actual musical. However, when I looked online at the prices, I quickly realized that the price of 2 tickets is way too much for this government worker. I was telling one of my friends that it’s a damn shame that we live in New York and can’t even afford to go to a Broadway show without taking out a small loan, when she mentioned that she had wanted to see Hamilton too. She offered to take buy her own ticket to the show and take my daughter with her. That, sounded good to me. I gave my friend the money for my daughter’s ticket, and she bought them for the day after her birthday, which was perfect since it turned out that she had a half day of school that day. She could go home, change, and do her homework before the 8pm show. We decided not to tell her so that it would be a surprise for her. We had it all planned out. My daughter would meet me at my office at 4pm. We would go to her brother’s basketball game, get a bite to eat, and then head off to Times Square. I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when we got to theater. I was surprised that I kept it a secret for so long. Well, I didn’t really keep it a secret. I told a few people, people that I thought I could trust. So, imagine my surprise when I got home from choir rehearsal Tuesday night, and my daughter says to me, “Mommy, I spoke to XX today” (I’m purposely not telling you who she to. That person may read this blog. I don’t want him/her to feel outed.) “XX asked me how did I like the play. Am I going to see Hamilton?” You know I was pissed, right? I have kept her in the dark for months. Since the beginning of November, my daughter has been asking me what she was getting for her birthday. Here I am, one day away from surprising her, and XX spilled the beans! When I later spoke to XX, he/she told me that she didn’t state the name of the musical. I had to remind him/her that there was only one play my daughter was interested in seeing. She’s a smart girl. She can figure things out. Needless to say, if you are going to plan anything for your kids as surprise, DON’T TELL ANYONE! Not even the people you think can keep it to themselves. Just keep it between you and the people helping you with the planning, and try to limit that to one person. If you don’t, the surprise will be on you when you find realize that your kid knows what’s going on. So there. Now you know, and you can … Consider Yourself Warned! Parents, have you ever planned a surprise for your child only to have it ruined? What was it and what happened?
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SassyGirlTye lives with her two wonderful teenagers in Brooklyn, New York. No matter what she says in her posts, she truly loves her children with all her heart.
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