Sister Backs Out Of Pet Sitting For Brother After He Didn't Agree To Give Her Grocery Money Or Allow Her To Have A Friend Stay Overnight
It is not unusual to ask our friends and loved ones for a favor once in a while. We all need the occasional help and it shouldn't take much convincing as long as the request is reasonable.
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This Redditor is no stranger to asking his family for help. He is counting on them again, this time when he and his wife and their daughter leave for vacation.
They will have to leave their dog behind during the trip, and he knows he can rely on his friends or family. They have taken turns watching each other's pets or kids in times like this, so OP was expecting the help.
His parents declined since they would be out of town then, but OP's sister quickly volunteered. Their dogs get along famously — it was a done deal as far as OP is concerned.
Their usual arrangement is for the volunteer to take the dog with them to their place instead of staying at the owner's house. OP's sister wanted to stay at his house since she is currently living with their parents.
OP was taken aback, but he figured it shouldn't be a problem since she is a frequent visitor to their home. On Christmas, she told OP about another one of her conditions.
She expected some grocery money during her weeks-long stay. OP brushed it off and made a joke about his sister's expectations.
They already gave her wine, a small gift, and paid for her parking permit as thanks for her pet sitting
OP didn't bring it up again because he knew it was going to cause drama
He was already thinking of giving her money to avoid the headache but his wife thought he should talk to his sister
So, OP talked to his sister and told her that she was more than welcome to eat the food they have at home during her stay but she might have to buy the perishables like milk & eggs
He also denied her request for one of her friends to sleep over. She wasn't happy with his answer.
His sister told him to find someone else to watch their dog since he won't agree to her terms. Fortunately, someone from his wife's family stepped up to watch the dog.
She was testing the waters when she asked if she can have some money but she overplayed her hand when she added a friend staying over
She probably wanted to get what she could from the situation since OP owed her one
She will definitely sulk for a while but if they approach the misunderstanding carefully, OP doesn't have to worry about permanently changing their relationship
She was acting like a highschooler who wanted to fool her parents into financing a house party while she's alone
OP did clarify that he was cool with his sister's friend visiting but he wasn't comfortable with them staying the night especially since they haven't met before
It's unclear when she brought up the money part but OP should have expressed his discomfort when she did instead of waiting for his wife to encourage him
One of the comments said that they were all acting immature and should have communicated calmly instead of taking everything so personally
It definitely was a sibling squabble, but it's not the relationship-ending kind. OP needs to talk to his sister when he gets home from their vacation, but the problem isn't as unsolvable as he thinks.