Baptism is meant to be a cleansing ritual, a new beginning. But for this family, the traditional ceremony might not mean a fresh start for everyone involved.

That’s because, in this story, a mother and sister can’t seem to make amends… even for the sake of a newborn. Maybe they’re the ones being babies…

Let’s find out.

AITA for refusing to accommodate?

My (29M) newborn son will be baptized at the end of the year, the day before my birthday.

My mother offered to organize the ceremony for my girlfriend and me if, in return, we agreed to celebrate my birthday during the same weekend.

We accepted because for such an event, any help is welcome. As a result, we informed our families that they were invited for the weekend to celebrate both occasions.

Sounds like a lot to celebrate. But will everyone be down?

Here’s the problem: my MIL and my SIL no longer speak to each other, and my girlfriend had been dreading the day they would both need to be invited to the same event.

For my MIL, no issue — she simply said she hoped everything would go without problem.

But my SIL… she started off joking, saying things like, “I hope you’re planning a cold buffet because the atmosphere’s going to be freezing.”

I mean, funny but also… cold? Will everyone else take it as a joke?

When my girlfriend didn’t laugh, SIL got upset and said we didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation.

My girlfriend replied that she wasn’t asking her to talk to MIL, just to be there for our son. That it would show maturity.

But SIL just responded that it wasn’t a question of maturity, but something more like, “I can’t stand the sight of her face and I would be sick by being at the same place as her.”

A little melodramatic. Maybe SIL isn’t one for compromise?

So, my girlfriend told her she wasn’t obligated to come if it was this hard for her.

SIL didn’t respond. Two days later, she sent a message saying she wouldn’t be attending. She had been chosen to be our son’s godmother.

My mother and girlfriend then suggested we split the baptism over two days. In our country, there are two types of baptisms: religious and civil.

We’re doing both — my girlfriend wants the religious ceremony, and my mother wants the civil one so she can personally officiate her first and only grandchild’s ceremony (she works at city hall).

That’s nice. But will it work out in everyone’s favor?

The idea was to hold the religious ceremony on Saturday and the civil one on Sunday.

I refused.

I already feel like it’s a lot to ask people to attend two ceremonies for the same event and to block out their whole weekend. Most guests have already said they can only attend one day, and we asked them to prioritize Saturday for our son.

Yeah, maybe it’s a big ask. So will SIL decide to be a bigger person?

If we agreed to split it, we’d be forcing people to choose a day, and especially, those who come on Saturday wouldn’t be able to attend the ceremony led by my mother.

And most of all, I don’t want to change our plans just to accommodate to my SIL, who refuses to make the slightest effort for her godson.

My in-laws have their flaws, but they are wonderful grandparents, and I don’t want them to be affected by all this.

Sounds like they haven’t forgiven each others’ flaws, is the problem.

That said, of course, my girlfriend is really hurt by this whole situation and still hopes to find a solution.

But, for me, her sister made it clear that it’s “her or them.”

I feel like this is a lose-lose. Maybe some holy water will give some perspective.

What do the comments have to say?

This person wants some backstory.

This poster says, maybe this isn’t a fairy godmother?

Someone else says SIL should be the adult here.

Another person questions the fitness of this SIL for the job.

And this poster always demands more deets.

But what holy water contains a little drop, little drop for me?

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.