Holidays often give families some much needed time to escape reality and relax together. They are also a time for making special memories. But one mum fears her family's holiday could be ruined, as her friend has invited herself along. And having never extended an invitation in the first place, she is at a loss as to what to do.
To make matters worse, the pal wants to bring her children along, further jeopardising what the mum had hoped would be "family time." However, she fears saying no might not be the best solution, as she does not want to upset her friend.
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Sharing her predicament in a post to Mumsnet, the parent wrote: "I'll keep it brief. My husband and I have two kids aged seven and four. We haven't been abroad since before COVID so my little one has never been. It's my husband's 40th and so we thought we'd go away."
She continued: "My best friend is getting divorced - she has two kids and doesn't want to go on holiday on her own. She thinks she is coming with us and j keep getting 'oh the kids will be so excited' and 'I'll have to come over so we can look online together'".
But the mum is not happy with the arrangement - and not just because it was sprung upon her.
"I have several issues with this the biggest being I want us as a family to go as a Family not with her and her 2 kids (age 10 and the sulkiest 14-year-old on the planet)," she explained.
"However don't want to upset her she's had a rough time but I want us to have family time, particularly as it's hubby's 40th," she added.
The confused mum concluded her post by asking: "Am I being unreasonable???"
She also added a comment, clarifying how the situation came about.
It read: "So I just said oh it's husband's 40th birthday next year so I'm going to plan something special for him and I'm met with a barrage of:
"Oh We'd love to come. The kids would be so excited. Where shall we go? I'm not confident taking the kids on my own."
But people were quick to reassure the mum she was not acting unfairly. However, they did say she needed to clear up the matter as soon as possible.
One person wrote: "It’s up to you to explain this isn’t happening."
A second agreed: "You're not unreasonable to refuse to holiday together, but you're unreasonable to let her think it's going to happen."
And another suggested: "You need to tell her and do it soon. Plan another short trip away for another time but explain this one is just a family trip."
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