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Louise Thomas
Editor
One 39-year-old man is choosing to stay back and not accompany his family on vacation after a toddler stole his bed.
Every year since he was born, the now grown man has traveled with his mom and his sister to her lake house. As they got older, the brother-sister duo invited their friends to spend time with them at their property six hours away from where they lived, but when their separate lives became too busy, the trips stopped.
“Three years ago, my sister and BIL (38M) had my niece, so we resurrected family vacations, and they have been something we’ve all looked forward to for the past three years,” the man wrote in Reddit’s popular confession thread, Am I the A**hole.
With more people in the house now, the sleeping situation has been a bit more complicated. “My sister, BIL, and niece in the larger bedroom, my partner of 20 years (45M) and I in the little bedroom with bunk beds, and my mom on the pull-out in the living room,” he explained. Though it’s been a tight squeeze, the family has made it work.
However, last year, the Reddit writer’s sister suggested the family invests in a camper to accommodate more guests in the future. She was looking ahead to when she gave birth to her second child.
“For months, she’s been talking about buying or renting a camper for the week, or moving some dressers from the larger bedroom so it could accommodate an additional smaller bed for the toddler,” the Redditor explained before detailing his current predicament. “We’re all set to leave on Sunday.”
Days before the Reddit user was meant to leave, he received a text from his mom. Her message read: “You can sleep in [neighbor lady who I don’t know]’s camper or the pull-out couch in the living room. [three yo niece] needs the bottom bunk so [four mo niece] doesn’t wake her up throughout the night.”
His mom thought that by asking him to sleep in the camper or on the pull-out couch, he wouldn’t feel too cramped or be disturbed by the toddlers when they get up in the morning. But in the Reddit user’s opinion, the arrangement wasn’t fair.
First, the Reddit user was concerned that he’d have to lay a sleeping bag out in any room that would fit him, which wouldn’t be as comfortable as his mom was making it seem. His second concern was that he’d have to make small talk with the neighbors if he stayed in their camper, something he didn’t like to do. The Redditor’s motivation to go to the lake house was to “be away from people.”
“I get that it would be easier for my sister and her family if they had all of the bedrooms,” the Reddit writer noted. “But I don’t think it’s fair that 25lbs of little girl gets two beds and a private room, while two adults are exiled to the neighbor’s camper or three adults crammed into an already cramped common area of the house.”
After mulling over his options, the Redditor concluded that he’d most likely feel “resentful” and “pissy” if he went with his family and abided by their sleeping arrangements. Instead, he thought that taking a trip with his partner to Las Vegas, a dream destination for them, would be a better idea.
He added: “I suggested to my partner that we ask them to watch our dogs, and we can schedule a last minute trip to Vegas and the Grand Canyon.”
But now, the Reddit user is questioning his mindset. He asked anonymous readers for their opinions, attempting to figure out whether he would be in the wrong for skipping the vacation.
Some Reddit readers thought his family was subtly trying to push him out of the vacation, while others argued he should be the one to sleep on the couch.
“You were effectively uninvited so of course you should feel free to go do something with your partner,” a supporter wrote.
Another remarked: “It doesn’t sound like this house fits all of you anymore. Not really anyone’s fault, though your sister and mom should’ve handled this better instead of just telling you less than a week before the trip starts.”
“My question is why is your almost 70-year-old mother sleeping on an uncomfortable pull out?” one critic asked.
A second agreed: “Your mom on the pullout couch? That sounds painful. As oldest adult AND owner, she should get best spot.”
