Have you ever been asked to change plans you were looking forward to so you could accommodate a friend or relative?
One man recently argued with his son after refusing to change one day’s plans on their family vacation to accommodate his son’s girlfriend.
He and his wife have three adult children they enjoy spending time with. One of his biggest passions is going on weekend hikes. While one of his kids and his wife aren’t big on hiking, his 28-year-old son Mike and 25-year-old daughter Emma love it, and they hike together several times a year.
Mike has been with his 26-year-old girlfriend, Jenny, for over a year. Unfortunately, Jenny has some physical limitations that prevent her from walking for long periods.
“She is a kind and good girl,” he said.
“We have a great relationship, and because of that, my wife and I invited her to go to the beach with us and the rest of the family. I wanted to go to this beach because of a nearby trail that led to a wonderful beach. On the second day of the [seven-day] trip, I announced that I would do this trail, and Emma agreed to go along. Her boyfriend did, too, and I invited Mike to go.”
The day he announced his plans, Mike pulled him aside and asked if they could drive to another beach instead of going on a hike so that Jenny could join him, Emma, and Emma’s boyfriend.
He said he didn’t want to do that because he was really looking forward to spending the day on the trail and the beach it led to, but offered to drive to a different beach with him and Jenny another day.
“Mike said that Jenny was feeling left out [for] not being able to participate, as my daughter was also taking her boyfriend, and she would be left out due to her physical limitations,” he recalled.
I pointed out that four people besides her weren’t going on this hike either. He said that I should understand her situation and not force a situation in which she is clearly being excluded by physical limitations and that if that were the case, he wouldn’t go either.
He told Mike that was fine, and the following day, they went on the trail and to the special beach with Emma, her boyfriend, and his other son while Mike and Jenny stayed behind with the other family members.
Mike and Jenny hardly spoke to him for the rest of the trip and had sour attitudes. When he offered to drive them to hang out on a different beach like he proposed earlier, Mike told him he had a lot of “nerve” to suggest that.
His wife and other children have decided not to get involved in the drama, and he isn’t sure how to make things right.
What would you do if you were in his position?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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