Missing Out

Halloween used to always be one of my favorite times of the year.  The haunted houses, the scary movies, the candy, the costumes.  I loved this holiday.

Someone else didn't. And like a fool, I gave up one of my favorite things to please someone else. He never once dressed up and never went to a Halloween party...until this year.

I understand that Peanut's dad is just trying to get out there and live his life.  However, it hurts that he chose this Halloween as the one he was going to celebrate.  It hurts even more that he chose to celebrate this Halloween as a single guy and not as a dad.

He didn't carve a pumpkin with Peanut and didn't take him trick-or-treating.  About two weeks ago, I asked Peanut's dad if he wanted to take Peanut trick-or-treating, even though it was a Mommy weekend.  He said sure and we would figure out the details later.  A couple days ago, Peanut's dad said he didn't know if he could take him anymore because of a possible conflict.

I would truly understand if there were a conflict.  I have a problem with the fact that he said he would take Peanut and is now saying he can't.  I have a huge problem with people saying they will do something and never back it up.  This is not the first time this has happened.

Last Christmas, we bought Peanut his first bicycle.  I kept reminding Peanut's dad that it needed to be put together...Santa doesn't leave bicycles in a box under the tree, now does he?  I reminded him every day which (of course) turned into arguments.  The morning of Christmas Eve, I was still reminding him to put it together.  Peanut's dad promised that he would absolutely put it together when we came home that evening.  Peanut would wake up the next morning and see his shiny new bike under the tree.

Guess who was a bit too intoxicated to put the bicycle together that night? And guess who stayed up until almost 3 a.m. to put together said bicycle?  I might add that I'm not the handiest of people.  I may have had to tell an elaborate story on Christmas morning about how the bicycle seat must have fallen off in Santa's sleigh.  Why else would it just be laying on the floor next to the bicycle? (Have you ever tried to put a child's bicycle together? It's not as easy as it looks!)

Apology after apology was given that day.  All I could do was remind Peanut's dad about Christmas Eve Past.  The one where I was pregnant with Peanut and Peanut's dad was extremely intoxicated (NOTE: his family tradition dictates shots of vodka.  I do want you to know that these two Christmas Eves were the only ones in 11 years that Peanut's dad drank in this manner.  By no means is Peanut's dad a drunken mess every holiday.).  I had to pull over on the drive home so he could throw up.  I had to push him into the house and up the stairs.  I had to call his parents because I was a worried pregnant woman whose husband was passed out in a pool of his own vomit in my house.  I had to lie to my own family on Christmas Day and say he was sick instead of hungover. I had to be a married single mom on that holiday.

Let's just say I'm pretty excited about not dealing with that this upcoming Christmas Eve.

I'm also pretty excited that Peanut and I had a fantastic Halloween weekend together.  I'm happy to know that I'm not the one that missed out.