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Family vacations can be a lot of fun, but sometimes they can also be very stressful, especially during the planning phase.
What would you do if you had a service dog for a health problem, but your mother-in-law kept saying that the dog would not be able to go to the Airbnb or the beach on the trip?
That is what kept happening to the woman in this story, so she finally gave up and said that she wouldn’t be going on this vacation. Now, the extended family is upset, and she’s wondering if she made the right decision.
Personally, I think she did the right thing by giving up on this vacation and booking a different one. Read through the entire story below, and see if you agree.
AITA for deciding to deviate from my in-law’s yearly family beach trip vacation plans?
I (29F) have been married to my husband (29M) for almost 3 years. We met in the Marine Corps.
I know this is going to put up red flags for people, but we dated for over a year, had an amazing engagement, were both in our late 20s and have had an amazing, supportive marriage.
I was medically retired for a number of issues to include spinal disc degeneration, hip muscle tears, PTSD, and most relevant, brain tumors causing epilepsy.
It is smart to use that money on a home rather than a wedding.
I have alot of physical and mental therapy, doctors appts, and rehab, so I don’t work.
My husband and I spent less than $150 on a courthouse wedding because in his words “I didn’t ask you if you wanted to marry me eventually, I asked if you wanted to marry me”.
We spent my entire wedding fund from my parents to get a very modest house in his hometown.
None of his 3 older siblings own any property.
They should be doing quite well financially.
I make enough money from my military disability to cover our house, escrow, bills, groceries, insurance, and still have some left over (I also plan on finishing my degree and becoming an actuary).
I was very careful to make sure our mortgage payment was less than 1/4 of my income.
My husband works, but makes less than half of what I do.
I have no issue with it, we are growing together.
Why doesn’t her husband explain it to his family?
Unfortunately, his family is apparently under the impression that I am a burden who does nothing to help, not knowing I pay all the bills and am the only person on the mortgage.
My husband’s income is savings and fun money.
So, with that background knowledge, here is the current issue.
She could just show them the service dog training documentation.
I have a task trained service dog for my epilepsy and mobility. He alerts me to seizures, puts me in the recovery position when people arent around, can find help, get my meds, help me up inclines and stairs, and can even call EMS with a special button if needed.
He’s the only reason my husband feels comfortable leaving me alone.
For some reason, even after seeing him alert me and ride in the ambulance with me to the ER, they keep calling him an emotional support animal and saying “he doesn’t have the temperament of a service animal” because he’s “sensitive”, which is his best quality.
The dog shouldn’t be a problem.
This year, they want to go on a beach trip to the east coast near where we live.
My MIL seemed super supportive at first and was looking up ADA laws.
Then the tides turned.
The MIL made up problems that were easy to solve.
“It’s not dog friendly”
Ok well he’s allowed because he’s medical equipment.
“Its on your BIL’s AirBNB account”
Ok well ours has 5 stars for 28 stays, we can do it.
Honestly, her mother-in-law should just ignore the dog and let her deal with it.
“He can’t be running around the beach”
He won’t, he will be in his vest being calm and nonvisible.
“If he can come, then your brother’s dog can too”
No he can’t, he is not a service dog.
They are the ones who drove her away from the vacation.
So we decided we aren’t going to go.
We are going to use my CC points to stay at a resort that wont give us any flak for my MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
Now they are mad that we won’t be contributing to the food fund from Costco or coming over for every meal. They are mad that we can’t watch the kids.
I feel like I am going insane. I’m not even sure we want to go at this point.
AITA?
No, if the mother-in-law is going to make everything difficult, then why would this couple want to go on vacation with them? They are doing the right thing by canceling the trip and booking something more enjoyable.
Read on to see what the people in the comments on Reddit have to say about this story.
The husband should be addressing this directly.
This seems extreme.
They definitely should not go with the family.
Here is a very funny comment.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mom who can’t figure out why her babysitter quit after what she thought was a routine question.
This commenter says the husband should be addressing the issue.
Her dog is welcome anywhere, but she shouldn’t welcome her mother-in-law on her vacation. Vacations are supposed to be fun and relaxing, but it will be anything but that if they go.
She is doing the right thing by planning a different vacation. They can have fun and leave the extended family to do the same on their own.