PSA: you don’t have to say “yes” to all the things to be a good friend OR to HAVE good friends.
This past weekend we visited my hometown & some of my very best friends (whom I hadn’t seen in months) invited my kids & I to the apple orchard. My kids LOVE the apple orchard but I knew we would have to forgo our downtime/rest time which almost always guarantees full on gremlins by 6 o’clock. Have you seen the movie “Gremlins”? Picture those creepy creatures but worse… so… I said “No thank you! Go without us!”.
Instead of passive aggressive, guilt trippy remarks, my dear friend offered her home to us like it was a darn AirBnB (but better because she left Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the TV). We crashed in her beds & on her couch & we ate her food while they played at the orchard. 🙌🏽
Lets take a moment to give a round of applause for friends like her!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
& while I’m up on this soapbox, I’d like to also petition that we NORMALIZE saying “No thanks!” when we need to or just bc WANT to.
It is OKAY to prioritize nap time; it is OKAY if you don’t have the energy for public places with your kids today; it is okay… it is all O👏🏽 Kay 👏🏽
As parents, we get pressure from every angle & on every front. We don’t need to entertain it (or perpetuate it for that matter) about every social event there ever was too.
“No thanks!”… be brave enough to say it & if you happen to hear it from a friend… well, be kind enough to say “good for you!” 💕
