Maybe if I just write about this I'll stop dwelling on it.

My friend's 5 year old daughter (born a couple weeks after our daughter) receives no discipline from her mother. We have issues time after time that often leaves my child in tears.

Today on the way to our shower I explained to my daughter that the gifts are for the baby, but the big sisters job is to open the gifts since he can't do it. I wanted her to feel like she had a special role for today.

Well my friend's daughter (which mind you we did not invite children, but she just told my sister she was going to bring her) started taking over gift opening. She was opening gifts before I could get to them. She kept pushing our daughter out of the way and not let her do her part. And her mother did NOTHING. She was well aware of what was going on. It was a small group of about 10 people, and no one was talking during gift opening...so it's not like she was distracted in conversation.

Our daughter totally lost it (Honestly I was about there too). My husband took her out to calm her down and missed most of the gift opening. The little girl continued to open gifts, tear off bows, or stand in front of me to open them. I tried to keep my cool and continued to suggest that maybe she go sit with her Mom, or color in the coloring book my aunt gave her. Her mother continued to do nothing.

It was embarrassing and awkward. My daughter was able to calm down enough to come back and help with the last couple gifts, but she whispered to me "I want to go home and I don't want to come back here.". My sister ended up just picking up the girl, held her on her lap, and had her draw on the notebook she was writing the gifts on.

I need to just be an adult and stop focusing on this, because my shower was so amazing otherwise. I'm so thankful my sister threw it for me. But I feel awful for my daughter. She's 5. She can't get past that her one job was ruined. She's been upbeat this evening, but I sat down to go through some of the clothes again (because I couldn't remember much) and she kept saying "I don't want to go back there."

Breaks my heart. Nothing will ever change with my friend and her daughter. She never disciplines her. Even when my daughter was 4 she would come home early from playing with her (they moved a few houses down) because she wasn't being nice to her. It was amazing to see that maturity in her.

Ugh. I had a wonderful shower. It was beautiful, simple, and small. But the gift opening is a f*ing blur, I feel obligated to apologize to my aunts, and I'm just so angry.

Thanks for reading.