Hi Brooke – My parents are getting ready to celebrate their 50th anniversary with a big party with my out-of-town sisters and their families. I am happy for them & will be fine to help plan and go to the party.
However, they also want to plan a weekend trip to the lake for everyone – this is definitely not my thing & I don’t want to go. The problem is the massive GUILT that comes along with opting out of this. GUILT from parents and siblings that I must not care enough about their anniversary and spending time with them to go. That I should go to honor them and everything they have done for me.
How can I reconcile this?
I know you have done a lot of work to get past your Mom and the guilt of not inviting her to games, moving to Texas, etc. This feels very similar.
In the past, I would probably just give in and go & be resentful the whole time, but that never turns out well.
How do you get past the guilt and still let them know that you care in situations like these?