Finally, for the first time in a year, people are feeling confident about booking vacations. And while it's still important to be safe and practice social distancing, things are much more understood now than they were last summer. For those who own beach homes, now's the real time to really cash in and enjoy the sun.
Speaking of beach homes, a Redditor who posted on the site's popular "Am I the [Expletive]?" forum asked whether or not he was being stingy with his. He's currently expecting a baby with his wife, but that's not the only important event in his family. His sister also recently got married, bringing some joy into the new year.
"My wife is due in about a month and we’ve been wanting to have a little getaway together," he said. "Work has been chaotic for us both so we never got the chance to have time off until now. I’ve requested 4 days off next week and will be going to our nice little beach house. We’ve really been looking forward to having this alone time together and get away from everything before our son gets here."
Remember, the beach house is theirs.
It's something that they own in an area they really love. It seems like they haven't gotten much of a chance to visit due to the pregnancy, which is adding on to the excitement. "It's close to this small town with a nice day spa and other places to check out so we’re pretty excited," he admitted.
Cue the scheduling issue. Supposedly, the sister of the original poster (OP) recently got married. While it wasn't a big celebration, it was definitely a big event in the family.
"No wedding just a courthouse type thing online or something like that. Anyways they really want to go on their honeymoon and conveniently they want to use our beach house next week," he said.
The new husband's availability was an issue. "Her husband is going on a work trip, won’t be back until middle of May I believe," he said. "I told her they can go before us but they'll have to be gone by Thursday because that's when we arrive."
This didn't sit well with his sister.
"Their issue is work and they only have next weekend free," he explained. "I had to tell her no then because we want to use all 4 days. I have already request these days off from work and can't just change it last minute. But they really want to have their honeymoon before her husband has to leave so she's mad now that we don't want to give up our place when 'we can go on vacation any other time.'"
It's unclear as to why the sister felt so entitled to a beach house she didn't own. But it also makes sense for the OP to feel slightly guilty or bad that he can't accommodate his sister's request. The term "honeymoon" is big. It's not just a standard vacation, but the first for a husband and wife.
"Yes she's right, but since I can't miss work aside from the days I asked to have off, the next time we get to take a mini vacation will probably be after our son is born," he said. "The whole point is we'd like our last alone time now. Sister has been extremely angry at us over this since they want to have a nice honeymoon before he leaves."
Reddit wasn't quite as kind.
And it makes sense as to why. It seems as if his sister was just looking for a free vacation. "Your sister doesn't really have a leg to stand on here," said Alienne8rYou. "You planned a vacation at YOUR beach house for you. She had an unplanned wedding and wants a free honeymoon at your house. That’s not [how] vacations work."
Many Redditors seemed a bit outraged. It seemed like a big ask. Plus, the OP was trying to be generous by saying that they could definitely be there a few days before their own arrival. So what more could she want? Some felt like maybe money was too tight and that was an issue they didn't want to openly admit — since otherwise, they could have booked somewhere else.
That said, if the OP is truly feeling upset about what happened, he may be able to help support their wedding in a different way if he felt inclined. "If you are feeling generous and your sister and her husband can't afford to go anywhere and that is the issue (I suppose you can ask if you don't know) you could offer to contribute some amount towards a weekend away as a wedding gift," wrote The HatInTheCat. "So that they can afford to rent somewhere."
The "beggars can't be choosers" mindset was also working. Surely after the OP's son is born, the house will be free. Waiting just a little bit in May shouldn't be that big of a deal, especially since it's just a few weeks away. Most honeymoons require far more planning in advance.
Hopefully, the sister realizes soon that she's asking for a lot.
Having a baby is really difficult. And your life changes forever. This babymoon is timed out for a reason. This will be the last vacation when the OP can just spend time with his wife before everything gets crazy. For many pregnant women, it's a really nice escape.
The sister should be equally excited for her nephew to arrive and understand that a honeymoon, technically, can be scheduled for any time. A babymoon, however, has a smaller window. All of that aside, it's not her house to control. She should be happy that her brother lets her stay there at all, since it's his right to say no at any time.
All in all, it seems like a case of entitlement. Obviously, the OP's sister has a lot to celebrate and is looking forward to her future with her new husband. But if this was really in the plans, she could have asked earlier on. She needs to accept that the answer is no, and it's not personal. Simply put, the beach house is already booked.
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