We’ll See

We all know what ‘We’ll See’ means. It generally means a hard NO…

Let’s set the stage. Your toddler or young child asks you for something so unreasonable that you truly want to laugh out loud in response. But you can’t laugh (because we don’t laugh AT our kids, right) or say ‘no’ or terror will follow. So, what do you do? You pull out the only response that will keep them quiet, momentarily satisfy their request and take you right back to your own childhood. We’ll see.

Let’s be serious. ‘We’ll see’ is even my response for many completely reasonable but not-possible-at-that-time-requests. It’s the answer to everything from ‘Can we go to the trampoline park this weekend?’ to ‘Can you take me to buy a real horse with the money in my piggy bank?’ We may be able to go to the trampoline park this weekend, but I’m not going to say yes, be held to that promise and then potentially not be able to take her. So I say ‘We’ll see.’ No, it’s not at all possible for you to buy a horse with the .75 cents that in your piggy bank but do I want to crush her dreams right then and there? Nope. Do I want to hear her scream and whine over whatever reasonable response I attempt to give her? Nope. So, she gets a solid ‘we’ll see.’

Now, we all add a little fluff, right? We don’t just say ‘we’ll see’ and that’s the end of it. When my toddler asks if she can skip school and go to Starbucks for a cake pop instead, I usually go with ‘Oh, honey. We have to go to school today. MAYBE TOMORROW.’ Because who wants a meltdown 30 seconds before preschool drop off. Not this girl. Or when my 5-year-old asks if she can bring 80000 toys on our beach vacation, I calmly respond with ‘Wow, you picked a lot of great stuff. I’LL THINK ABOUT IT. Ok?’ Knowing damn well that I’ll take ¾ of those toys out of her bag and pack that bag without her knowing it. Because who wants a fight while you’re trying to pack for vacation? Not this girl.

We’ll see – I’ll think about it – Maybe tomorrow

They all mean the same thing. It either means no, or it means not right now. It means that we’re hoping that our general response will keep them quiet long enough that they forget to ask again. Does it always work? No. But it works often enough that we keep using it. Does using a ‘We’ll see’ or ‘maybe tomorrow’ response mean that we’re afraid to tell our children the truth? No. It’s means we’re picking our battles.

Don’t we all remember getting the same response throughout childhood? I do. I remember getting that response and eventually figuring out that it really meant ‘hell no’ and fighting back with ‘you always say that!’ That’s when the truth starts coming out. Have your kids figured out what the ‘We’ll see’ really means? I can imagine it’s a real low in parenthood.

I’m dreading the day when I give my oldest a ‘I’ll think about it’ and she says ‘I know what that means, it means NO.’  That will be a sad day in my house. I guess that’s when you whip out the oldest classics in the book. ‘Because I SAID SO!’ or ‘Go ask your father!’

Mommy Diatribes