With estranged families, even the smallest gestures can carry a heavy emotional weight.

As a recovering woman, she’s fought hard to rebuild her life, but when a baby shower invitation arrives from the sister who’s ignored her for years, she questions whether her presence would mean anything at all.

Should she show up and give their relationship one more chance, or is it better to decline?

Read on for the full story.

AITA for not going to my sister’s baby shower

I (36F) have two sisters. One (31F) is pregnant, and I hear from her every couple of months. The other sister (33F) hasn’t spoken to me in over 3 years.

They’re both really close, and I know they share a very low opinion of me.

She’s tried to extend an olive branch to both of them, but so far it hasn’t worked.

I’ve tried to make amends with both of them, but I get no traction.

I’m a recovering addict, and I also have bipolar disorder, which went undiagnosed for a long time.

The pregnant sister hasn’t opened a message I sent her 2 months ago asking about her pregnancy and general health.

So when she gets an invitation for her sister’s baby shower, it opens up a flood of emotions for her.

Recently, I received an event invitation on FB for her baby shower, along with a registry of very expensive gifts she’d like.

The guest list includes people who aren’t my biggest fans.

I was considering going to try to rebuild relationships, but when my Dad asked me yesterday if I was going, I realized that I don’t want to go.

She feels like attending will only make her mental health worse.

How long do I keep trying to mend bridges? I know that if I attend, every interaction will replay in my mind for the next 6 months, and I’ll feel even worse about myself.

Realistically, she’s probably inviting me because my Dad expects her to.

It’s also worth noting that she didn’t invite me to her gender reveal, which upset my Dad.

So, AITA for not going to my sister’s baby shower?

Bridges aren’t going to rebuild themselves.

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter thinks she owes it to her sister to at least try to go and make the best of it.

There are many different ways she could show up for her sister in this moment.

This commenter isn’t so sympathetic for her.

Her support doesn’t have to be monetary.

A second chance like this may not come around again.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.