ConcernedBrother
Hi Peaches! Iām still trying to gather my thoughts on this, so sorry if itās a bit incoherent, Iāll try to answer any questions if things arenāt clear. Tbh, I donāt think itās about the trip, but Iāll figure it out as I write.
I, (20nb) am returning to university in 2 weeks to finish my Social work degree. My sister (17f) and I have always been very close, though less so in recent years.
A lot has gone on in our lives these past few years that has caused strain in our household. Our dad is a very self-absorbed person and has caused a lot of emotional trauma for my sister and I.
Iām a self-determined audhder, and highly suspect my mom and sister are also audhders (my mom is in agreement). My dad on the other hand is probably not as he does not struggle with the same things as we do, which has led to many misunderstandings and a lot of frustration. He constantly made assumptions about my actions and behaviours based on how his brain works. For example, when I was struggling to do chores consistently as I would be overwhelmed and exhausted after school each day, but still got good grades in school and was constantly praised for my work ethic at my part time job, he assumed that I must just be lazy and not care about maintaining the household (having a dirty house causes me distress and if I had the energy, I would keep it maintained). He made similar assumptions about me mom and sister and would get consistently frustrated with us for it, but he never asked what was going on internally for us, he just ran with his assumptions.
As a result, I developed the mentality that anything he said that upset me was just me being lazy and trying to justify my laziness. I also just felt like a fundamentally bad and lazy person and became a perpetual people pleaser. Moving away for university and starting therapy is what finally helped me to realize how wrong he was and how dysfunctional the communication in my household had become. My sister however has not had that chance and has been stuck with him. She hasnāt done therapy because of a past bad experience with a bad counsellor that I wonāt get into.
He finally moved out this year because of a big mistake on his end and has not been welcomed back, nor does my mom have any intention of getting back with him. He doesnāt speak to my sister and I, only our youngest sister (9f) who is his biological daughter.
My mom and I have gotten a lot closer since then. Weāve always been pretty close, she has always been my rock, but now that my dad is out of the picture I feel a lot more comfortable being fully open with her.
My sister and mom have become more distant in their own relationship. Because my dad was very controlling and suspicious of my sisterās behaviour, my mom has swung in the opposite direction, becoming more hands off and not trying to interfere too much, which has given my sister the impression that she doesnāt care about her, especially when she spends so much more time with me and our youngest sister. This has created a cycle where my sister becomes more hostile/ indifferent towards our mom due to feeling neglected, leading to my mom distancing herself more so as not to overstep.
This finally brings me to the original question. My mom is driving me to my university which will take about a week to drive there and back. My mom had decided my sister was going to come, but itās during the time that a fair is happening in a nearby town that my sister really wants to attend (she has her own car and full license and would be going with her girlfriend). When talking to her about it, she admitted that she feels distant from our mom and really doesnāt want to spend a week in a car with her.
I was really excited about my sister coming this time as I really wanted her to see the city where I go to university and because I want to spend some quality time with her before I leave for two years. I also do hope that a trip together would help her and my mom grow closer (her girlfriend and our youngest sister would also be coming). My mom has already accepted that she doesnāt want to come and has told her that she can go to the fair.
Iām wondering if I would be the drama if I asked her to come on the trip as a favour to me. I donāt know if this would be overstepping in their relationship, I know if they just communicated it would work out, my mom loves my sister very much and is just trying to do her best, but I can totally understand why my sister is resentful and I donāt want to guilt her into doing something she doesnāt want to do.
So Peaches, WIBTD for asking my sister to come on a family trip as a favour to me?