The parent who said no to that party was choosing to be the bad guy for a night. That’s a kind of love too.

Saying no makes somebody unpopular immediately and useful only much later. A parent refusing a party knows how the evening will go, knows they will be the villain for a night, and knows nothing will ever prove them right. They do it anyway, because the alternative is being liked and being no use. Love willing to be disliked is the harder kind to give.

Next time you get a no, separate the irritation from the question of whether they were actually wrong. Ask what they were worried about. You do not have to agree with them to see what the no cost them.