Emma is not going to NC after all

My mom and dad have been planning to take Emma on a little trip to North Carolina this week. She has been really looking forward to it, and counting down the days. I got an email last week from Emma’s school about a carnival they were going to be having this Friday while she was gone. We talked about it and I explained to her that she would miss it, since she would be on her trip. She said she didn’t mind missing it, and she still wanted to go on her trip.

Today she came home from school and burst into tears when she got in the car. She had a flier from the carnival with pictures of all of the bouncy houses and slides and treats that they would be having. I told her we had talked about missing it, but she said she didn’t know that it was going to be so much fun. She loves bouncy houses and cotton candy, so missing that would have been really tough for her.

I talked to her and explained that the trip was her choice if she wanted to stay home, she could choose to stay home. I could tell she was very upset and conflicted about the whole thing. I asked her why she was upset and she said she didn’t want to hurt Nana’s feelings, or make Nana disappointed. I was proud of her that she was able to think about it from another persons point of view. I was happy to hear that she considered Nana’s feelings too. I told her that I was proud of her for considering Nana, but that Nana would understand.

She decided to stay home this time. I’m sure there will be other times for her to have a trip by herself with Nana and Grandpa. I was proud of her and happy with the way she handled the whole thing.