I Left My Daughter for a Romantic Vacation with My Wife

A couple faces a difficult choice while chasing their dream vacation. This story shows a father making a tough decision that questions his role as a parent.

Here’s what happened.
My wife and I always dreamed of celebrating our 40th anniversary with a luxurious vacation, just the two of us, rekindling the romance of our early years. We had planned it for years and were very excited.

Then our adult daughter Jane found out about our plans. Jane, her husband, and their two kids invited themselves along. I told them this trip was just for us, which upset her. But my wife, who finds it hard to say no to Jane (our youngest and only daughter), agreed to let them join so as not to hurt her feelings.

I wasn’t happy about it, but I wanted to make my family happy, and my wife was okay with a “family” trip even though she was sad about not having our romantic getaway. So we went along with it. We changed our plans to a family-friendly resort since the original place wasn’t suitable for kids. We paid for the resort and our grandchildren’s plane tickets. Jane and her husband only paid for their own airfare.

As the vacation got closer, I had second thoughts. I realized our 40th anniversary was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and I wanted to celebrate it as we had planned. We might not be able to afford another trip like this for a long time.

So, without telling anyone, I switched our tickets to the romantic destination we originally planned. I didn’t tell Jane or her husband. I only told my wife the day before our flight, which was a day before Jane’s flight.

It wasn’t an easy choice, and I feel guilty. But I wanted our 40th anniversary to be special and intimate.

We called Jane after we landed, and she was very upset. She thought we were going to look after our grandkids so she and her husband could have alone time. Now, she and her husband would have to take care of their kids themselves. My son-in-law started shouting, so I hung up. My wife and I then enjoyed the rest of our trip.

They came back the same day we did but haven’t replied to our texts. Jane seems to be ignoring me. My wife said she enjoyed our trip more than the family trip we would have taken, but she still doesn’t like that Jane is mad at us and wants me to apologize. I’m not sure I want to after finding out Jane and her husband were using us for free babysitting and a free trip, but I feel like I should apologize to keep the peace.

Was I wrong for changing our trip at the last minute and leaving Jane and her family to manage on their own?