Life is such an unpredictable thing that it can bring both pleasant and unpleasant surprises, and, what is most offensive, unpleasant ones usually happen when we have already made plans for ourselves, swung in the clouds and relaxed in anticipation of something good.
Well, here's some further evidence, such as this story on the AITA Reddit community by user u/StrangeConcentrate22, about how her own relatives nearly ruined her plans for a perfect and long-awaited vacation. After all, what kind of rest and relaxation can we talk about when a couple of toddlers are traveling with you?
The author of the post was looking forward to her first vacation in six years, but her relatives ruined everything at the last moment
Image credits: Rui Dias (not the actual photo)
The older sister told her that she'd like to invite her cousin with two toddlers to join the family vacation
Image credits: StrangeConcentrate22
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
Image credits: StrangeConcentrate22
The author confronted her sister, claiming that a trip with 2 kids is not the kind of vacation she was thinking about
Image credits: Riccardo (not the actual photo)
Image credits: StrangeConcentrate22
The family drama ended with the sister giving the author the silent treatment over this situation
So the Original Poster (OP) honestly admits that she has spent the last six years with little to no rest. If you can, of course, call short-term episodic breaks between several jobs, studying and teaching fitness classes as a side gig rest. Yes, the woman claims that even these short breaks can be counted on the fingers of one hand... And now, six years later, she has managed to find time for a full vacation.
The OP's parents and two older sisters suggested that the five of them go on a journey at the beginning of the year and, as the woman recalls, she spent the past months looking forward to a long-awaited vacation. And literally at the very last moment, one of the older sisters pitched a new idea - she said that she had invited her cousin with two small kids to join the trip.
Of course, you can perfectly understand the mother of two, 2 and 4 years old, who would also like to take them on a family trip. You can easily understand the older sister, who wanted to please her relative. But of course, it's easiest to understand the author, who hasn't been on a proper vacation in six years and, as she herself admits, "cannot imagine anything less relaxing than being on vacation with two toddlers."
In other words, the author of the post put a choice before her relatives - either her, or her cousin with her children. The OP's mom, despite the fact that she understood her youngest daughter well, took a rather neutral position. But the older sister, on the contrary, threw a tantrum, not wanting to listen to any arguments. As a result, the sisters had a big fight and have not spoken to each other since. Needless to say, the family vacation turned out to be completely ruined.
Image credits: Diego F. Parra (not the actual photo)
In fact, a family trip with toddlers imposes many restrictions. Not only on the choice of your activities, but also on the choice of vacation spots too. And, of course, your time belongs not so much to you as to your children. "It stops being a vacation and becomes a trip," New York Times columnist Heather Murphy quotes her friend after her first big family getaway.
In any case, when planning a trip with kids, you should adhere to a whole series of rules - which means that after six years of hard work, the original poster would not have received her desired relaxation. But in the end, that's all she wanted. "I should have realized early on our vacation wasn't going to be the summertime-and-the-livin'-is-easy dream I was envisioning," Particia Garcia, Vogue's culture writer, recalls her first vacation with a child. But unlike all those moms, the OP doesn't have her own kids - she just wanted to relax!
And we must say that most people in the comments not only perfectly understand the original poster's viewpoint, but also completely share it. According to the commenters, it's a vacation and not their family holiday - and there is no guarantee that the author's cousin will not try and guilt her to watch them so she can have a break and "enjoy her vacation too". No, of course, people are well aware that the mom of 2 also wants to relax and unwind - but not at the expense of other relatives!
However, any trip with relatives can turn into a real tragicomedy - like, for example, what happened in this tale of ours about a guy who invited his entire extended family to Disney World - only to realize how petty and annoying they all were. And there are actually a huge number of such stories - perhaps you will also share one of them in the comments?
Most people in the comments, however, sided with the author, stating that she did everything right
