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AITA for going on vacation alone after my parents bait-and-switched me last Christmas?
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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The allergy is not dramatic, just miserable. Tight throat, itchy skin, swollen eyes. Not enough for anyone to panic, apparently, just enough to make staying in the house a bad idea. Bailey could board the cats or pay a sitter. She has the money and local support. She simply does not feel like it. Mom quietly admits she knows that. Mom also admits she only pushed the kid she knew would come anyway.
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Airbnb turns the whole trip into background noise. Family time happens in the house where the cats live. Older sister appears for the parts that can be done outside, then heads back to an empty rental. It feels less like coming home and more like visiting a town where everyone already has plans.
Oldest sister flies home for Christmas, gets pushed from the spare room for golden child Bailey and her cats, spends the trip in an Airbnb, and plans a solo trip this year instead: ‘I was upset when my mom uninvited me, I decided go on vacation alone’
Some families just have a favorite, then build the holiday schedule around that one person and their pets. Bailey is that person. Bailey gets the spare room, the cats, the full Christmas experience. Older sister flies in from another country after years away, and gets told, "Actually, never mind, go find a hotel." All because the golden child insists on traveling with two cats and everyone else is expected to adjust.
So this year the plan is different. A short, polite visit, then a solo vacation somewhere that does not come with cat hair and old resentment. Parents promise no animals in the house this time, but that trust account is low. Calling it boundaries does not feel dramatic. It just feels like finally treating her own time off like it matters as much as Bailey's.
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