Family expectations

I'm finding that with the holidays and other events involving our families coming up, it's sometimes hard not to stress about trying to make everyone happy. But I am slowly starting to realize that sometimes that is just not possible.

For instance, Hadley is going to be baptised soon and I was just thinking it would be a small group of us - Me, Rey and Hadley, the grandparents and maybe a couple of close friends. However, I get the impression that Rey's family expects the whole family to come and that we need to make a big day of it. There is nothing wrong with the way they want to do it...it's just not what I had in mind. I definitely believe that a baptism is a special day but I don't feel the need for a lot of fanfare.

They asked us if we were going to throw a party after the baptism and to be honest, the thought had not even crossed my mind. The idea of having a big group of people in our little house and having to make food for everyone and decorate, etc. sounds pretty stressful to me. Not to mention the fact that a 3 month old can only go so long before she needs to be fed again and has to take a nap. This does not leave much time for a party and having everyone over would most definitely be loud. It just seems like a setup for a screaming baby to me. Of course, having been asked if we were going to have a party made me start to worry that that is what everyone would expect of us.

Having our baby baptised is a wonderful, happy occasion and I really don't want to make it stressful for me, Rey, OR for Hadley. I'm thinking maybe as a compromise we will invite everyone to come out to eat with us after the baptism. If everyone comes, great. If some people need to get back home or have other plans, that's fine, too.

I think Rey and I are just going to have to start doing things OUR way sometimes and just accept that we can't always make everyone happy. After all, we are our own little family now. :-)