A week before Christmas, I overheard my daughter Amanda talking on the phone. She sounded excited as she discussed holiday plans, and at first I paid little attention.
Then I heard her say, “Just leave all eight kids with Mom. She doesn’t have anything else to do. We’ll enjoy a few peaceful days at the hotel while she watches them.”
I froze.
She went on to explain that she, her husband, and even my son’s family had already planned their vacations. According to her, I would take care of all eight grandchildren, prepare Christmas dinner, buy the gifts, and handle everything else—just as I always had.
The only difference was that nobody had bothered to ask me.
As I stood there listening, I realized they weren’t treating me like a mother or grandmother. They were treating me like a free babysitter.
I quietly walked upstairs and sat on my bed, trying to process what I had heard. At sixty-seven years old, after years of putting my family first, I suddenly felt invisible.
For the first time, I asked myself a question I had never considered before:
What would happen if I stopped saying yes?